Over Rwf25bn needed to upgrade health facilities

KIGALI - The Minister of Health, Dr Richard Sezibera, yesterday, said that an estimated Rwf 26 Billion is required to rehabilitate various hospitals and health centres in the country. The minister said this while appearing before the Chamber of Deputies to respond to queries raised by the House’s social affairs committee, concerning the state of health facilities in Kigali City. Among the questions raised by the committee was the service delivery of medical insurance institutions. MP Speciose Mukandutiye noted that organs such as RAMA and Mutuelle de Sante were offering poor services. Other complaints included; poor infrastructures and shortage of medical equipment and personnel. Sezibera told the House that at least 20 percent of the hospitals and clinics are in bad condition and that the government has a long term programme to renovate them. He noted that some district hospitals are already under renovation. “We prioritized districts that previously had no such infrastructure. We intend to partner with local authorities in the rehabilitation process,” the minister said. Sezibera added that 48 maternal clinics were rehabilitated and 65 more would be upgraded by the end of the year. According to the minister, 102 out of 438 health centres were short of safe water facilities but his offivce was working with the ministry of infrastructures to solve the problem. “10 percent have no power connections and some are connected to solar power. We expect to acquire 84 generators to serve the rest.” Concerning the debt owed to RAMA by the government, Sezibera said that they had already paid Rwf3bn with an outstanding balance of Rwf 600m. “The remaining amount was delayed because of errors in consumables presented and are awaiting correction. We have also urged Gacaca services and FARG to pay their dues,” Sezibera said. The minister further explained that to address the human resource vacuum, the government has embarked on a human resource development programme aimed at producing 250 doctors and 700 medical officers within seven years. Ends

National

Over Rwf25bn needed to upgrade health facilities