Head of the Cooperation in the Belgian Embassy Rwanda, Laurent PREUD’ HOMME
The Belgian government through Belgian Development Agency, Enabel has disclosed an intention to continue funding the key sectors aligned with priorities of government of Rwanda.
Under the Barame project and the Results-Based Financing, the five-year health initiative worth 45,700,000 euros is spent to impact the social welfare of the local communities. The program was launched in 2019 with a tenure of five years with an aim to help maternal, neonatal and child and adolescent health. Despite the end of tenure, the Belgium Embassy through Enabel has promised to extend its arm towards another five years of funding to 2029 despite the program’s timeline.
Addressing the press at the Ministry of Health premises, the Head of the Cooperation in the Belgian Embassy Rwanda, Laurent Preud’homme disclosed that the extension is part of the Belgian program of international collaboration for foreign countries and pinned that Rwanda is one of the biggest.
He disclosed that “Every five years, we open up a new program and through these we have a fixed sector priorities program.” He further noted that “in Rwanda, the Belgian Embassy is very much aligned with the clear vision of the government including vision 50 and NST1.”
The Embassy official lauded the implementations that were reached out between the government and the embassy during the program’s timeline but expressed that more need to be done. “The program is now coming to an end. We are very proud of what we have achieved and will continue in the same circles of funding health and agriculture.”
“The program started in 2019 to 2024 and generally in this year we have started another initiative starting in 2024 to 2029,” he added.
Commenting on the extension of the funding, he said “Rwanda was vetted out of 40 countries,” disclosing that “we enjoy government to government links and strong diaspora connection.”
“We have strong academic exchanges and our cooperation dates so many years ago,” he added.
Kibagabaga hospital which was constructed in 2006 is one of the health initiatives implemented under the funding of the Enabel, Belgian Development Agency. Additionally, the same hospital with new maternity wards will benefit from the extension of construction worth Rwf14billion. The modern maternity wards are expected to give the expectant mothers a safer environment during their labor periods at the hospital. The particularly the maternity wards will accommodate attendants of expectant mothers as well as mothers of new born admitted to neonatology units.
Dr. Cyiza Francois Regis, the Director of Child and Maternal Health Programs at Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) said the extended initiative of five years targets to particularly improve the wellbeing of mother and children as well as the teenagers. “We were aimed to reduce the maternal and mortality rate in the last tenure. However, the death rates did not reduce on the level we wanted in contrast to the projection we had as a country or on a global scale,” he said.
With illustrations, he said, the projections target to reduce maternal mortality rate below 26% by 2026 alongside the deaths of children who die below five years of age at 36% and death of infants at 15%.
Dr. Cyiza further explained the funded activities to which the hospitals and youth service centers were built. “There are some hospitals that are still under construction such as Kibagabaga hospitals with a special room for patient’s attendants,” he added.