Rwanda News

The newly appointed Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to the Republic of Rwanda, Dr Kasonde Mwinga, presented her credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Richard Sezibera, on the 22 of May 2019. The Minister accepted the credentials and welcomed Dr Mwinga to Rwanda. In her remarks, the WHO Representative congratulated the Government of Rwanda for its various achievements in the health sector.

Rwanda organized its biannual Integrated Mother and Child Health Week from 23rd to 27th  April 2019.

Kigali, April 5, 2019 --- The Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organization and other partners will launch vaccination of health care and frontline health workers to prevent them against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in case they have to deal with patients contaminated by the virus. The activity begins on Monday, April 15, 2019 in Rubavu and other districts in high risk zone located near boarders with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Rwanda Health Management Information System (R-HMIS), based on the District Health Information System (DHIS-2), has been successfully rolled out in all public health facilities since 2012, with completeness and timeliness rates as high as over 90 per cent.

However, although about 70 per cent of private health facilities report through the routine HMIS, there was still a need to improve completeness of their reporting through the system in order to improve HMIS data quality, which is critical to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the context of the on-going outbreak of Ebola in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces of the DRC that declared on 1st August 2018, Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda as priority one countries based on proximity, insecurity and high population across the border, the Rwandan Ministry of Health, supported by partners has developed, and is implementing an EVD preparedness and contingency plan. The objective: strengthen preparedness capacities for the prevention, earlier detection, response and containment of a potential case of EVD in Rwanda.

This year on 24th October 2018, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with WHO, Rotary International and other Partners celebrated the national Polio Day in Rwanda. The ceremony took place in Huye district where polio surveillance performance indicators were not achieved since last three years.

On 24th October 2018 the Ministry of Health in Collaboration with WHO Country Office in Rwanda and the Rotary International celebrated together the National Polio day. Poliomyelitis (polio) is a devastating and highly infectious viral disease, which  mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause crippling paralysis.

The current outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) poses a high risk of introduction into neighboring countries including Rwanda. An Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is likely spread over tens of kilometers.