The City of Kigali together with the Belgian Development Agency, BTC, have commissioned a new extension for maternity wards at Muhima Hospital, Nyarugenge District. The new facilities will be added to the existing wards to increase the capacity of the hospital to provide quality maternal and child care services in the hospital. The new ward was commissioned Friday by the Vice Mayor in charge of social affairs in Nyarugenge District, Pierre Kalisa, together with the director in charge of health and environment at City of Kigali, Blaise Uhagaze. He noted that there was a gap in health service delivery that prompted the Ministry of Health to ask for aid from development partners to address the challenge. According to Ahmad Parsa, a programme officer with BTC, the project is a response to a request from the Ministry of Health to support the health sector in the country. The project is part of a four-year project which will cost BTC more than Rwf 12 billion to also build four modern hospitals in Remera, Gatenga, Mageragere and Kanyinya in Kigali. “These hospitals will be well equipped and will purposely support the existing health facilities,” Parsa said. Muhima hospital receives more than 7000 mothers a year and 30 babies are born there everyday. The clinical director at the hospital, Placide Ntigurirwa, commended the Belgian government for the initiative because it will increase their capacity in promoting maternal health. “We receive 600-700 mothers a month but we didn’t have enough facilities to accommodate all of them. With this new maternity ward being commissioned, we will be able to attend to even more expectant mothers,” he said. The maternity wing will be a two-storey building, with the ground floor used for cervical cancer screening, cancer registration, family planning, sterilising hospital equipment and some offices, while the upper floor will host labour rooms.
