A new facility is set to be constructed at Kacyiru Hospital to improve service delivery in the Surgical, Maternity and Neonatology departments.

The construction works will cost Rwf 383 million, and a bigger part of the budget, some Rwf300 million, will be raised under Heineken Africa Foundation.

It is an initiative dedicated to supporting projects that improve health standards, especially in Sub-Saharan African countries.

After laying the foundation stone yesterday, Chief Superintendent of Police Dr Pascal Nkubito, the hospital director general, said the facility will help extend maternal services to more patients.

"We did not have enough infrastructure for maternity and neonatology services, but once the new facility is completed, we hope to provide improved services in this department to ensure health safety for women and children

"We realised that the hospital had recently been serving a big number of patients, but because the current facility has less infrastructure and equipment, the service we provide seems quite in balance and we thought of approaching sponsors so we can expand the hospital’s infrastructure to improve our services and help to reduce maternal and infant deaths,” said Nkubito.

The facility is expected to help reduce maternal and infant deaths.

"We have long been worried about the accommodation services for women who come for maternal and neonatal services at the hospital given the little space we have, but we hope the new accommodation facilities will make it easy not only for them but also for us, who serve them. We want to ensure the services we provide reach patients on a timely and efficient basis,” he added.

The hospital currently has two operation rooms with four delivery tables, but as soon as the new facility is completed, three more rooms will be added to boost the hospital’s capacity to serve 10 women at the same time.

Nkubito said that the hospital receives an average of 700 women for maternal health services a month (24 a day). In general, Kacyiru Hospital receives 3,500 patients a month.

Freddy Nyangezi Biniga, the Heineken Corporate Affairs Manager at Bralirwa, said the brewer is committed to ensure people’s health.

Several women who were waiting for maternal services at the hospital told Saturday Times that the planned facility will improve service delivery at the maternal and neonatal unit.

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