Week in health

Last week, members of the August house put the Health Minister on the spot over a number of controversial issues. After the heated session, the parliamentarians resolved to form a special team to investigate the poor performance of the community health insurance scheme Mutuelle de Santé after realising that its subscription base has dropped in the recent years. The scheme is also indebted with significant amounts of money to hospitals in different parts of the country. Although the inquiry will also look into losses made due to drug expiration and purchase of substandard mosquito nets, health minister Dr Agnes Binagwaho maintained that there is still supply of safe mosquito nets around the country to prevent malaria. Furthermore, the government has vowed to distribute over a million mosquito nets. This was revealed during the launch of the Mother and Child Health Week in Bugesera District, Eastern Province last Monday, March 30. The exercise, which came to a close on Friday, April 3, saw the distribution of about 1.4 million insecticide treated mosquito nets in 13 districts, with support of the US government. Patrick Ndimubanzi, the minister of state in charge of public health and primary healthcare, said that since getting bed nets is not enough, their effective use is also crucial. Meanwhile, with activities to mark the 21st commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi slated to begin this week, the Ministry of Health announced that both staff and volunteers will offer psychological support to all trauma victims. Historically the commemoration period has been characterised with a spike in cases of trauma. According to the ministry, over 3,000 cases of trauma were recorded during last year’s commemoration events. Dr Yvonne Kayitenshonga, the head of mental health division at Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), said they have trained different agents in communities and set up a committee that will coordinate the support. Kayiteshonga pointed out that 28 per cent of Rwandans have mental disorders, according to statistics, and cited Genocide among the major causes. Besides that, here in Kigali, hotels and restaurants operating in the city were urged to improve hygiene in their kitchens to help ensure quality services. This message was delivered during the launch of the Hygiene Inspection Week in Kigali last Tuesday. The exercise is being undertaken by the city in partnership with the three districts that make up the City of Kigali.Languida Nyirabahire, the vice-mayor for social affairs in Gasabo District, said the inspection aims at reminding hospitality service providers about the need to maintain hygiene. She said that despite public awareness about the importance of proper hygiene, such efforts were needed to ensure that people do not get off track. All hotels and restaurants inspected on Tuesday had sub-standard kitchens.