The Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNFPA and Family Health International (FHI360) is conducting a ten-day Family Planing training, which started on 21 May 2012, for health providers from health centres and hospitals in Rusizi District, Western Province.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Health, the training is taking place at St. Andre Centre, Kabgayi Catholic Cathedral, Muhanga District.
The first five days (21-25 May 2012) have been devoted to theory while the other five days (28 May to 01 June 2012) will be devoted to practical work at Byimana, Kinazi, Gitarama, Mbuye and Musambira health centres. The training is being facilitated by trainers from Ministry of Health, UNFPA and FHI360.
While opening the training, the Director of Gitwe Hospital, Dr. Valens Habimana said: “I urge you to participate in the training with keen interest. We expect you to improve the contraceptive rate which is very low in Rusizi District.”
Although the government of Rwanda quadrupled contraceptive uptake in five years (from 10% according to 2005 DHS to 45% according to 2010 DHS), the contraceptive uptake is 35.5% in the Western Province and only 23,4% in Rusizi District during the same period.
“Access to family planning services empowers women and can save lives. Ensuring access to voluntary family planning can reduce maternal deaths by a third and child deaths by 20 per cent,” said Ms Daphrose Nyirasafari, UNFPA Rwanda Programme Officer for Sexual and Reproductive Health.
The training is participatory. Trainees are engaged in brainstorming, presentations, group discussions, case studies, role plays and demonstration using anatomic models.
It is aimed at providing to health providers knowledge and competences so that they are able to provide quality family planning services and to increase long-term contraceptive uptake. The training is in line with MoH’s decision to train at least two officers per health centre or hospital to ensure continued quality family planning services.
At the end of the training participants are expected to have acquired enough family planning knowledge and competence to create demand for and provide family planning services especially the long-term methods (implants and Intra-Uterine Device). They are also expected to help increase the number of users of the long-term family planning methods.
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