Rwanda to participate in AU Summit

FOREIGN Affairs Minister and government spokesperson, Louise Mushikiwabo, has disclosed that Rwanda will attend the AU Summit to be held in Kampala mid this month. Mushikiwabo said that delegates from the Foreign Affairs and Health Ministries and the Rwandan Ambassador in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will attend the 15th Ordinary Session of the Summit of the African Union (AU). “I don’t have the list of delegates off head right now but definitely Rwanda will attend as a member of African Union,” Mushikiwabo said by phone. This year’s theme of the summit is “Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa” aimed at seeing how Africa can curb the health issue, a key area of MDG 4 and 5. The other key areas to be covered during the summit include peace and security, Infrastructure, Energy, Agriculture and Food Security. In a recent annual international conference on maternal and child health held in Kigali, the Minister of Health Dr. Richard Sezibera said that the current child mortality rate in Rwanda remains high despite tremendous results in reducing the mortality in previous years. “In just eight years, Rwanda has been able to cut child mortality by more than 40 percent,” said Sezibera. “In order to meet the MDG of a two-thirds reduction in child mortality, Rwanda will have to make significant strides in addressing child mortality causes, decreasing child deaths from 103 to 47 per 1,000 live births by 2015,” he added. Sezibera noted that the leading causes of childhood deaths in Rwanda continue to be preventable diseases such as pneumonia, malaria, and diarrhoea He said providing access to oral re-hydration therapy, bed nets, immunization, anti-malarial drugs and proper nutrition continues to be a primary priority for his Ministry. The minister also noted that such a conference has a unique approach of mother and child which showcases a vital role of mothers within their families and are therefore essential for Africa’s continued economic growth. Maternal Health According to the Minister, Rwanda’s maternal mortality during 2008 was estimated at 383 per 100,000 live births. He said its primary causes are complications associated with spontaneous or induced abortion, post-partum haemorrhage and obstructed labour. He however added that Rwanda recorded a clear improvement in maternal health over the last year noting that several strategies have been put in place to respond to various challenges of health care and the results to date are more than satisfactory. According to the minister, maternal health and child mortality are issues marked by complex interactions and relationships that need integrated solutions. The AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Bience Gawanas, told the media recently that the AU’s health programme has been broadly focusing on issues such as HIV and Aids, malaria, TB and other communicable and non-communicable diseases. Ends