Editor,

FOLLOWING a story in The New Times, last week, regarding Ange Ineza Mugisha’s heart situation, the Ministry of Health would like to commend doctors of Kibuye District Hospital for their commitment to improving her health condition. We have communicated with Ineza’s family, and they will bring her to King Faisal Hospital, next week, for a scheduled monthly check up with Dr Mucumbitsi, one of Kigali’s pediatric cardiologists.

Indeed, such heart conditions exist in young children; thus, through various initiatives, the Ministry of Health mobilizes, as much as possible to offer free heart surgeries by highly qualified international specialists to children with such cardiac disorders.

These initiatives, which have gone on for a long time, are still ongoing and Ineza will benefit from them when she is clinically eligible (and when it is safe to operate on her).

In as many of these cases as possible, the Ministry of Health arranges for children to be treated either here in Rwanda or elsewhere, depending on their clinical need.

We are pleased to inform the public that the Ministry of Health and its international partners have already intervened for more than 250 such patients over the past five years.

The Ministry of Health is determined to deliver quality health care for every citizen, and we will do whatever it takes to improve not only Ineza’s condition but that of everyone else who needs such health services.

Every Rwandan has a right to good health, and the Government continues to work tirelessly to ensure universal access to quality medical services for the entire Rwandan population, who are our country’s greatest resource.

Minister of Health,
Rwanda