The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Partners in Health (PIH/Inshuti Mu Buzima) and the Global Fund, have intensified efforts to facilitate the work done by community health workers, especially those in rural areas.

Through the partnership, community health workers received bicycles and motorcycles to enable them cover their areas more efficiently.

The new development follows that of mobile phones  handed to them to ease communication with doctors or other more experienced colleagues while in the field.

The health workers offer a basic package of health services for infants, women of productive age, and patients with chronic communicable diseases at the community level.

Their intervention may sound minimal, however, they have massively contributed towards bringing down the child and maternity mortality rates and put the country on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal number four, which aims at reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015.

The initiative to use community health workers to reinforce service delivery in the health sector is one of the many successful home-grown solutions that have helped to improve the welfare of the Rwandan people.

Any additional support given to the community health workers will not only facilitate their work, but will also save many more lives.

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