NYANZA - Officials from Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP), Rwanda chapter, on Wednesday visited Nyanza Hospital as part of the organisation’s campaign on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The team, led by MP Pierre Rwaka, visited several units of the hospital to see how the hospital is working towards the achievement of the three health goals: Reducing child mortality, improvement of maternal health and combating HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases.

The visit comes barely a few days to the September 20 meeting of world leaders who will be gathering in New York to assess progress on the MDGs.

The team visited the HIV/Aids testing and counselling centre where it was revealed that over 800 people living with HIV are receiving ARVs.

At the maternity and paediatric ward, the team donated an assortment of items that included soap, beddings and baby milk bottles.

In a meeting with hospital workers, Rwaka reminded them that achieving the MDGs will require the input of all Rwandans in their various sectors of work.

"We have to own these MDG’s, and as individuals and in our different domains, see how we are implementing these goals so that by 2015, we shall have achieved something,” said Rwaka.

He commended hospital authorities for their work but urged them to do more in HIV/Aids prevention.
"Fighting HIV/Aids is everybody’s role, our focus should be on prevention,” he added.

Antoine Niyitegeka, a Campaign and Communications Assistant at GCAP, said that in visiting hospitals in the country, the organisation was joining the rest of the campaigners to remind policy makers and government officials that they have work to do to achieve the MDG’s by the year 2015.

He said that Rwanda had made a lot of progress in health, gender promotion, environmental protection and poverty reduction but hastened to add that a lot more needs to be done.

"There are many programmes that are aimed at reducing poverty but much more mobilisation is needed at the grassroots level so that the local people can own these programmes,” said Niyitegeka.

GCAP is an international non-governmental organisation that works on anti-poverty campaigns as well as campaigns on achievement of the MDGs.

Ends