Nearly half a million people in Bugesera District will no longer have to lineup in long queues for medical services at Nyamata Hospital by the end of this fiscal year in June 2020 thanks to funding from Japan to upgrade the hospital facility. The relief was disclosed as the Director-General of Nyamata Hospital, Dr William Rutagengwa, signed a grant agreement with the Japanese embassy in Rwanda. The signing of the Rwf82.9-million-grant agreement took place on Tuesday, November 19. During the signing, Dr Rutagengwa expressed his relief. “By June 2020, Nyamata Hospital will have a new treatment building to facilitate healthcare operations. This will ease and quicken our services to an increasing demographic environment of the hospital’s operating region,” he said. Nyamata Hospital is the only polyclinic in the whole district and it, therefore, receives a high number of patients beyond its capacity. It serves 448,142 residents of Bugesera district. The new building will have two operating rooms, a preparation room, a patient’s waiting room, offices and storages. “The hospital needed to upgrade,” adds Dr Rutagengwa. Improved service delivery The project is expected to decongest the hospital, reduce secondary infections among patients and decrease post-operative infections. Dr Rutagengwa is optimistic that it will improve service delivery. “We only have two operating rooms that are shared by all patients. It is hard to attend to them in time, which leads to long queues. With this new building, we hope to deliver better services,” he said. Yuko Hotta, Chargé dAffaires and interim Japanese ambassador to Rwanda, who represented Japan during the signing, told the media that the grant was given to the hospital to be able to cater for the needs of patients and improve the quality of service. “The overall quality of health care services at Nyamata Hospital are expected to be improved after the completion of this project,” Hotta said. She added that the grant is a contribution to the efforts of the Rwanda government of Rwanda to deliver good health services and promote the well-being of Rwandans. “Japan is very proud to be part of Rwandan efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through this project,” she said. The grant was offered under the Japanese government’s scheme “Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects”. The scheme provides funds to developing countries without the obligation of repayment. It aims at improving basic infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, water- supply facilities and roads. Through its embassy, Japan has funded 96 projects since 2006 in Rwanda. It funds developmental projects in sectors of health, education, agriculture and ICT.
