Senior WHO official calls on Kagame

The visiting World health Organisation (WHO) Africa Chief, Dr. Luis Gomes Sambo yesterday paid a courtesy call on President Paul Kagame, at Village Urugwiro.Sambo and his team arrived in Rwanda on Saturday to learn more about Rwanda’s healthcare programmes and assess progress on the ground with the view of sharing some success stories with the rest of the continent.His visit also aimed at emphasising WHO’s support for the United Nations Delivery as One process in Rwanda, as well as reinforcing the UN’s country team in health care improvement.Speaking to Journalists shortly after meeting the Head of State, Dr. Sambo said he came to congratulate President Kagame and his government for having registered remarkable progress in health care improvement.“During my visit to Rwanda, I have found that the health care system in Rwanda has been strengthened at local level with a great positive impact on the people. I have realised enormous progress in the control of certain diseases like malaria, and improving child health,” he said.“It’s upon this satisfaction that I paid a courtesy call to President Kagame to thank him and his government for these wonderful achievements in the sector”.Malaria has been reduced remarkably and the progress showed that its prevalence in the country decreased by half in children under five and women respectively.Household ownership of insecticide treated mosquito nets stands at 82 percent with the highest ownership in the Eastern province, where the burden is still high.Presently under five mortality rates have decreased from 133 deaths per 1000 live births to 76 over a 5 year period.“We intend to reinforce our technical team in Rwanda to address some of the areas that need to be strengthened in collaboration with international agency operating in the field of health,” Dr. Sambo noted.The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), which is conducted every 5 years, shows that healthcare system has tremendously improved since 2005 to 2010.The report further proves progress in several key domains such as control of malaria, HIV/AIDS and maternal and child mortality among others, which still remain a challenge to several countries in sub Saharan Africa.Agnes Binagwaho, the Minister of Health who accompanied Dr. Sambo said the Head of State and WHO Africa Chief discussed Rwanda and regional health issues.“They highlighted how Africa can be ready to respond to epidemics and its capacity to set up pharmaceutical industries,” she stated.During his four-day working visit, the WHO official visited various hospitals and health centres and also held meetings with senior government officials and toured health-related projects across the country.

National

Senior WHO official calls on Kagame