Kigali January 23, 2019. Today the Ministry of health in partnership with Society for Family Health have organised a Consultative Workshop to discuss how to establish the Next Generation of Health Posts of Excellence towards Universal Health Coverage in Rwanda in Kigali/Rwanda.

The Ministry of Health works in close collaborating with the Society of Family Health (SFH)-Rwanda in partnership with Abbot to scaling up HPs of excellence in Bugesera District. The objective of this initiative is to improve Health Posts service package, build the capacity for health providers at Health Post, equip Health Posts for better diagnostic and treatment, and  digitalize and improve communication between Community Health Workers, Health Posts, Health Centres, and District Hospitals. 

While officially opening the workshop, the Minister of Health, Dr. Diane Gashumba highlighted the importance of health posts in achieving universal health coverage.

“The health posts of excellence will help reduce the workload of health centres, we want to provide primary health care at health posts and more importantly reduce the walking distance to the health facilities from 50 minutes to 25 minutes of walk to seek health care services.” 

Currently the health service package offered at the health posts include annual general checkup and screening, (NCDs, dental and eye), family planning services ( condoms, pills, injections), HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Provider Initiated Testing, Primary Curative Consultation, management of Communicable and Non Communicable Diseases, Postnatal Consultations, Wound Care, follow up of malnutrition cases, DOT for Tuberculosis. 

These Health Posts of excellence will ensure Rwanda addresses its geographic, financial and quality gaps in primary health care services delivery. This process has the potential to trigger economic gains in terms of productivity due to close-to-home services that will greatly impact mothers and children, less deaths, and better quality services.

By Gaspard HABARUREMA