Senate passes Rwanda Biomedical Centre bill

Senators yesterday unanimously passed the bill establishing the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) which merges several entities within the health sector. Health Minister Dr Richard Sezibera was in Senate to defend the draft law which was later passed, on its second reading in the Upper Chamber. RBC seeks to coordinate services of King Faisal Hospital, National Reference Laboratory, Trac Plus, Health Communications Centre and the National Centre for Blood Transfusion. Other includes the AIDS Control Commission (CNLS), Medical Maintenance Workshop, the Pharmaceutical Laboratory (LABOPHAR), Drugs Procurement Agency (CAMERWA) and the International Centre for Clinical Research. The centre will also control trainings in all medical sciences in the country through its university. According to the vice president of the senate, Marie Mukantabana who presented the bill before the House, the operations of the centre will be determined by a Prime Minister’s decree while a special law on the set up of the university will be tabled at a later stage. During the first reading of the bill, senators had expressed concern over the initiative saying the new body would be too big to manage. However, Sezibera defended this saying that it will be charged with coordinating and improving research activities in the fields of disease prevention and education. Ends