by
Bridget Alegieunu
The position that people should aspire to having a healthy mind in a healthy body portrays how integral the health-care system is to the wholesome functioning of man as an individual. This implies that people should take out time to look out for both their bodily and mental health. It is little wonder then that the United Nations in setting the agenda for actualizing sustainable development, prioritized the health sector by making it the third in the set goals, which is the attainment of good health and well-being. In line with this, I will like to share my experiences from a recent field trip to Rwanda during my Masters programme in Sustainable Development at the University of Ibadan. I was assigned in a group of three to work on: Health and Well-being for sustainable development: A case study of Remera Health Center, in Kigali and Zipline outfit in Muhanga District, Rwanda. This was in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 which is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.During this field trip, we visited the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Office in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI); Zipline Health Delivery Services; Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa; Remera Health Centre; the Kigali Convention Centre; and the Kigali Memorial Centre; all located in Kigali, the capital city Rwanda. Our team also visited the Nyamabuye, Muhanga District of the country.
At IFAD we were briefed on the aim of the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), which is to initiate, develop and manage appropriate programs of transformation and modernization of agriculture and livestock to guarantee food security and to contribute to the national economy. Our team asked on how the IFAD programme has contributed to sustainable health and well-being in Rwanda. We were informed that all Rwandese enjoy accessible health-care insurance program; that IFAD empowered farmers on whatever they need and provided incentives; IFAD educated them on their nutrition and gave an instance about aflatoxins; IFAD monitored their basic well-being through the farmer’s cooperatives. The cooperative remains an avenue for farmers to communicate their basic needs, such as the distribution of improved seeds and fertilizer which are often provided for, and also provided an information platform for its members. This has helped to create more income within the community and enhances food security in the country.
During our visit to the University of Rwanda, we were informed about the friendliness of the Rwandan people and their commitment to unifying the country through community meetings. The community meeting is called “Umuganda” and is attended by people from ages 16-65 years It takes place on the last Saturday of every month. The community meeting’s aim is to bring the people together for a common purpose such as the development of infrastructure, and also serves other economic and environmental purposes. It is also a means through which individuals contribute to nation-building. This has also led to tremendous increase in the level of development in the country because it has helped to unify the citizens see in themselves the possibility to work together as one. The intolerance for tribalism is an important lesson for countries like Nigeria where the different groups still emphasize their ethnic differences to negative ends. The elimination of hate sentiments will inform togetherness, which in turn fosters the development process.
Rwanda has made an excellent progress in increasing access to health services through the use of drone technology. This was observed during our visit to the Zipline Delivery Services, Nyamabuye, Muhanga District. Zipline is an American medical product delivery company that designs, builds, and operates small drones for delivery of medical products. It is focused on supporting healthcare services in Africa. The company operates two (20) distribution centres in Rwanda and four (4) in Ghana. About 70% of the blood deliveries in Rwanda use Zipline drones because it is fast and less stressful. This service has helped to reduce the high rate of mortality and also increased accessibility to blood and vaccines in the rural areas of Rwanda. During the discussions with a technical staff, we were told that it takes about six minutes to deliver blood to any health center that demands for it in Rwanda, while it takes about thirty minutes in Ghana. Zipline in Rwanda focuses more on the rural areas with limited facilities and limited access to good means of transportation. If this can be adopted in Nigeria, and other sub-Saharan African countries, it will contribute tremendously to the countries’ health systems and thereby reduce the mortality rates. This in line with the 8th target of the SDG3 which, among other things, entails the attainment of universal health coverage and access to quality and affordable essential health-care services and medicationby 2030”.
Our next stop was the Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa (SDGC/A), an international organization that supports governments, civil society organisations, businesses, and academic institutions to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the SDGs in Africa. The SDG Centre for Africa was established in Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali in 2016. At the SDGs office we were enlightened on the efforts the country is making to achieve the goals and the various challenges faced not just in Rwanda but in Africa generally. These challenges include the demographic challenge with Africa having one of the fastest growing populations in the world. There is the consequent high rate increase of unemployment, and this has affected the GDP because most of its youth population are unemployed. Therefore, there is need for Africans to adopt effective demographic transition policies in order to tackle this challenge. Another major challenge is the lack of funds which undermines the efforts at achieving the successful implementation of the SDGs in Africa. Africa is one of the poorest continents in the world with limited partnership and international aids. It is thus important for African countries to diversify their economies in order to generate more income for sustainable development of the countries. Other challenges include the lack of social inclusion with the exclusion of minority groups from development project and the data gap due to the adoption of available technology to collect quality data, especially among Sub-Saharan African countries.
At the Remera Health Center located at the Gasabo District in Kigali, we met with a member of staff who briefed us about the operation of the health center. The health center aims to promote health services in the area so that Rwandans living in the Gasabo district can have easy access to health-care facilities. Rwanda follows a global health care model for universal coverage which provides health insurance through a system called Mutuelles de Sante. The system requires residents of a particular area to pay premiums into a local healthcare fund from which they can draw resources when in need of medical care. The poorest members are entitled to use the services for free, while the wealthy ones pay the highest premiums. Historically, the Rwandan healthcare system was very poor but the latest improvement has helped to reduce the mortality rate in the country. In comparison to the Nigeria healthcare system, for instance, it is deducible that Nigeria healthcare system is poorly developed and can be rated as one of the worst systems in the world. To achieve a sustainable healthcare system in a country like Nigeria, there is the need to improve and develop the three tiers of healthcare systems in the country, especially the primary healthcare system since it is the first point of contact, and perhaps the only point of contact for people in the rural areas. The government should also allocate adequate funds to the healthcare system as this will help to improve on the infrastructure, provide easy access to healthcare and thereby reduce mortality rate. There is also a need for the Nigerian government to develop a good policy and implementation on healthcare system to encourage investments in the healthcare system.
Lastly, we visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial centre that was created to commemorate the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The remains of over 250,000 people are preserved there. There is a visitor centre for students and those wishing to learn about the events leading up to the genocide. Personally I feel that the genocide, in spite of the great negative effects, has also contributed positively to the high rate of development in Rwanda. This is because it has helped to strength the level of unity among the people, as well as the desire to develop their country. The visit was though an emotional one, with traumatizing sights of the remains of the people killed (which included skulls, clothes, cutlasses, hoes, knives among other weapons). These are used in reconstructing the evils of the genocide and admonishing people to avoid such carnage in the future.
Bridget Alegieunu is rounding off her study for a Masters Degree in Sustainable Development at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.