Rwanda Military Hospital-Kanombe, yesterday, opened a medical simulation centre that will help equip military personnel with necessary skills to save the lives of peacekeepers injured while on missions.

According to Brig Gen Dr Emmanuel Ndahiro, the commandant of Rwanda Military Hospital, the facility will equip the military personnel with rescue skills to quickly help injured peacekeepers deployed in conflict zones.

VIDEO: Medical Modeling and Simulation Centre at Rwanda Military Hospital. Source: YouTube/TheNewTime

The facility has three areas; Skills Lab I which uses mannequins for manual techniques when examining and treating the human body; and Skills Lab II, where a computerised simulator gives commands to the mannequin.

Skills Lab II can simulate the mannequin to bleed, breath, have a cardiac attack among others. Medics carry out all operations on it to become familiar with taking care of the injured.

The last area is a conference room where the trainees meet and discuss treatment after training.

A few military medical personnel have already undergone an intensive training-of-trainers course from American experts and will, starting from this week, begin training their colleagues.

Dr Ndahiro said their mission is to look after their troops, wherever they are deployed in conflict zones.

"We have been using the skills of our doctors who are trained in our medical schools. The training they have obtained is value addition. The training facilities you saw here are modern and cheaper in the long term. They provide the current technology and are a force multiplier in a sense you can train in one simulation board,” Ndahiro noted.

"It reduces the cost, and offers the most appropriate approach to medicine. Once people are injured, the first few minutes are essential. So if you have somebody who is well qualified, the intervention determines whether they survive without disability in the future. That is why this training is very important,” he added

The facility was constructed by the hospital in partnership with the United States of America at a tune of Rwf225 million.

According to the United States Ambassador to Rwanda, Erica J. Barks-Ruggles, the partnership was in line with the existing cooperation between USA and African peacekeeping missions.

"The essence of this centre is a partnership that we have with African Peace Keeping Lab and Distance programme to help with the training of medical personnel from Level II and Level III, standard for treating wounds for accidents and providing first aid in the field and stabilise patients. We are very pleased that after a year and half, the project is coming to fruition,” she said.

She added that such a centre was crucial to Rwandan military personnel given that Rwanda is the fifth largest troop contributing country in the world and the second in Africa, after Ethiopia.

"This medical training is absolutely critical to ensure the Rwandan personnel are able to treat their own, but also to treat others who are participating in peacekeeping operations, and we are very pleased to be partnering in this effort,” she added.

The facility is expected to keep training military and non-military personnel to ensure that it is not only helpful in peacekeeping operations but also helps medical personnel acquire skills to treat people in emergencies.