GASABO - Nurses and midwives around the country have called upon the Ministry of Health to increase their salaries.

The call was made yesterday during celebrations to mark the International Nurses and Midwives Day that took place at Petit Stade in Remera, Gasabo District.

"Though the health ministry and the government in general have managed to promote the health sector in many ways, we as medical practitioners in midwifery and nursing still face a challenge of low salaries compared to the prevailing cost of living,” said Andre Rutembagara, president of Rwanda Nurses and Midwives Association (RNMA).
 
He disclosed that a nurse and midwife earns Rwf90,000 a month which he said was not enough, and also requested the ministry to improve their working environment saying that due to indecent working conditions, some of them had contracted diseases like Tuberculosis.

Angelique Kanyange, the Director of Planning in the Ministry who presided over the event, said that together with the Ministry of Labour, the Health Ministry would put in place a development plan to enhance professionalism among nurses and midwives.

"You have played a major role to improve Rwanda’s economy,” Kanyange said.

She requested them to always deliver good services to the population saying that nursing and midwifery are very important components of the healthcare system.

Kanyange further encouraged them to come up with other income generating activities to help improve their social welfare.

Rutemabagara told The New Times that there was only around 500 medical staff practising nursing and midwifery after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis, saying that the number had since risen to 9,000.

Kanyange said that about 400 nurses and midwifry graduates are employed every year in various health institutions.

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