KIGALI - FOLLOWING a World Bank review, Rwanda has been nominated for two Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) awards for its efforts to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, just a few days to the MDG summit, it has emerged.

Rwanda was nominated for the awards in two categories, MDG Goal 4 of Reducing Child Mortality and Goal 5 of Improving Maternal Health which target reducing the mortality rate of children under five years by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015 and the maternal mortality rate by three quarters, respectively.

The awards will be presented at the forthcoming UN MDG Summit to recognize the achievements that countries have made in seeking to attain the MDGs.

The nomination recognizes the Ministry of Health-led expansion of access to high-impact HNP interventions, and in particular, the complementary efforts undertaken at community level.

In an interview with The New Times, the Minister of Health, Dr. Richard Sezibera, pointed out that the nomination demonstrates the country’s commitment to attaining the MDGs, and recognises the efforts of the government to achieve the two MDGs, with indicators showing a 30% decline.

"This is because the government has prioritised the two in terms of financing and investment, a reflection of government’s commitment to reduce the two, keeping in mind that our economy is a service-based economy,”
"Our biggest resource is human capital and that’s why the government is committed to human capital development---investing in people is what the government and the President are pre-occupied with,” Sezibera said.

Rwanda’s success is attributed to the adoption of innovative performance-based financing mechanisms that have greatly paid off, putting Rwanda among the few countries in the world that have successfully battled child and maternal deaths.

The nomination has a specific focus on improved antenatal care and increased skilled attendance at delivery, which have been the result of institutional reforms (decentralization).

It also looks at the use of performance-based financing, in seeking to address some of the key factors - improving facility-based deliveries, improving quality of obstetric care etc. - that affect maternal mortality.

Sezibera went on to say that the Government will continue to invest more money in the two MDGs to a level whereby the two will have limited impact on the country’s population.

"We intend to continue investing more money for improved antenatal care, strengthening of health facilities to provide good delivery, support services for pregnant mothers, more investment in HIV/ AIDS prevention,”

"We also plan to focus on the reduction of malaria in both children and pregnant mothers, availability of transport including ambulances, emergency response services and generally strengthening the health sector. All these investments will continue to pay off,” Sezibera said.

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