KIGALI - A joint team of health professionals from Australia and Belgium has since last Saturday completed successful open heart surgery for 11 patients at King Faisal Hospital, Kigali (KFH/K).

The experts target to perform 40 operations before they finalize their tour of duty on Friday this week.
The team composes 40 Australian specialists in open heart and cardiac surgery, 7 Belgians and 4 Rwandans who include surgeons, physiotherapists, intensive care specialists, pediatricians and other specialists.

According to officials at the hospital, most of the patients are children between 9 months and 16 years and are receiving surgery and specialized treatment after they were referred from different hospitals in the country.

Mwevi Mugisha, a 7-year old boy with a heart problem, was successfully operated yesterday by the team and according to his mother, Zamda Inashaza, his condition has since improved.

"I came to know of my son’s illness when he was only 7 months. I started to take him to different hospitals for treatment, but his condition only worsened,” Inashaza said in an interview.

A mother of two and a housewife, Inashaza later learnt through a friend that KFH/K receives heart specialists every year and that they would assist her son.

"I immediately brought my son here and he was considered for the programme. Since I have Mituelle Du Sante (communal health insurance), the process was very fast and I don’t pay any money,” Inashaza added.

The Pediatric Cardiologist and coordinator of the programme at King Faisal, Joseph Mucumbitsi, revealed that, about 180 nationals have benefited from the cardiac surgery programme since 2006.

"Our major satisfaction is that the first beneficiaries are our young brothers and sisters in need of specialized heart treatment,” Mucumbitsi said.

"We strongly believe in the program’s contribution to the improvement of the lives of Rwandans and the sector in general.”

Andrew Bullock, the team’s Pediatric Cardiologist, commended the country’s health system structure for its rapid growth and improvement in offering quality care to heart patients.

"I have been here five times and I have also traveled to other places. In comparison, Rwanda, in a short time has made significant steps not just in the health sector, but in very many others. It’s amazing how words are put in action in this country,” Bullock said.

The partnership between the Ministry of Health, with Belgium and Australia has facilitated training of the KFH/K medical staff, particularly in cardiac surgery and through voluntary operations; teams from these countries have offered surgeries to patients for 5 years now.

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