Health around the week

The Ministry of Education, last week, launched a four-year coverage comprehensive health policy for schools to foster creation of a better environment where students can maximise their learning capabilities and perform better academically. The health policy includes recommended actions in eight key areas such health promotion, disease prevention and control, HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), reproductive health, environmental health, nutrition, physical education, sports, mental health and issues of gender based violence. For the same reason, various UN agencies are working on providing water and sanitation to schools, developing new curriculum and training teachers on things like health, HIV and sexual education, provision of soap and hand washing facilities to all schools and training District Education Officers and head teachers on hygiene. But it is a different story for young graduates of nursing and midwifery who have come out to decry delays by the National Council of Nurses and Midwives to issue them with licences so they can apply for jobs after several months elapse without results from the licensing body. One nurse volunteer at Rwanda Military Hospital, Kanombe, told The New Times that she missed many job opportunities because she had no practicing licence although authorities blame the delay on negligence by applicants who already meet requirements and the immense workload. In the meantime food science graduates from the University of Rwanda in collaboration with German food science scholars are seeking to promote food technology in the country. While launching a food scientists’ platform, the Rwandan Society of Food Science and Technology, last week, at the University of Rwanda’s College of Business and Economics, Dr Anastase Kimonyo, the patron of the association, said the partnership will help make Rwanda a food hub. The partnership includes material and financial support to the association believed to be in the region of Rwf39 million, according to Prof. Werner Lorig, from the German Ulrich Florin Foundation.