Campaign to support heart patients

The Rwanda Heart Foundation (RHF) has launched a campaign to raise funds for treatment of heart patients.The money raised will be channelled through a special fund set up to help meet medical expenses for the most vulnerable people suffering from heart diseases.Dr Joseph Mucumbitsi, chairperson RHF, said the initiative was inspired by the need to give a chance to patients suffering from heart disease to access health services.“We are going to come up with an association that will help us to implement our plans and we will have to carry out research that will identify those in urgent need,” Mucumbitsi said at the launch of the campaign in Kigali on Friday.And, on Saturday, RHF organised a fundraising concert to mobilise funds from well-wishersHealth minister Dr Agnes Binagwaho is among senior officials who attended the concert held at Kigali Serena Hotel.Addressing the audience, Mucumbitsi said that a committee will be set up to monitor the effectiveness of the fund.People who are currently on the post-heart surgery treatment will be the first beneficiaries of the fund.Among others, this fund comes to help address challenges associated with flying patients out of the country in case of referral abroad.“You find that people get a chance to go out for heart surgery, but they can’t afford the air ticket and, sometimes, fail to pay for their travel documents,” he said.The concert was graced by several musicians including Jean Pierre Ntwari, a Rwandan artiste based in Belgium, Shannel, and Rwanda’s representative at this year’s Tusker Project Fame, Jackson Kalimba.

National

Campaign to support heart patients