Ethiopian First Lady visits Isange One Stop Centre

Ethiopian First Lady Roman Tesfaye has commended the Isange One Stop Centre (IOSC) as a “comprehensive” place where “humanity is best expressed.” Welcomed to the Kacyiru-based facility by the State Minister for Health, Dr Patrick Ndimubanzi, Mrs Tesfaye inspected the different departments to learn from the operational framework of the centre. Mrs Tesfaye visited the medical examination room and the laboratory among other departments, at the centre. “I visited the one stop centre and found it to be comprehensive and the humanity is best expressed. I am grateful for those who contributed for the establishment and function as well. God bless you for your good support and justice,” read Mrs Tesfaye’s message written in the centre’s guestbook. Isange One Stop Centre, started as a pilot project in 2009, have since been expanded to 45 hospitals across the country. The centres offer free medical, psycho-socio and legal services to victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and child abuse. According to Superintendent Shaffiga Murebwayire, the coordinator of the centre, 87 per cent of the cases received countrywide concern women. The centre has also received over 15,000 GBV cases since its establishment. Of these, 57 per cent are below the age of 18. She further explained that, as part of their aftercare programme, they work with local leaders to fully integrate victims in their respective communities. Mrs Tesfaye arrived in Kigali on Thursday for a three-day state visit along with her husband, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. On Thursday, Mrs Tesfaye also visited the Women’s Opportunity Centre in Kayonza, which hosts women survivors of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, wives of Genocide convicts, as well as those who returned to Rwanda from exile. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Ethiopian First Lady visits Isange One Stop Centre