IGIHE

Author: Abou-Shadadi

  • Kigali Institute of Health to partner with U.S varsities

    A partnership between Kigali Institute of Health and 16 top US universities through the Clinton Health Access Initiative seeks to improve comprehensive and innovative human resources in the country.

    Recently appointed health minister Agnes Binagwaho hailed the partnership adding that at the end of seven year training period the institution would have produced a good number of local professional health practitioners. The curriculum is intended to facilitate both physicians and nurses.

    In this respect, Vincent Rusanganwa who is in charge of training in the ministry of health was quick to ssupport the minister’s remarks adding that the program would add on the number of professionals since there only 113 physician, the program intends to produce 700 more in the next years, while the number of nurses is expected to increase from 457 to 5287.

    “The trainings are expected to boost the county’s vision 2020 and MDG’s target towards achieving better health services,” health minister remarked.

    Lessons will also be extended to relevant local institutions such as the nursing school in Nyagatare as well as medical faculties at the national university. The trainings will cover six core areas including internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, anesthesia, and family medicine.

    A student exchange program will also be part of program whereby US students will conduct their internship in the country and vice versa.

    At least 50 health managers are expected to be trained on management skills which would enable better management in each of the 44 district hospitals. Currently the few health professionals head referral hospitals.

    Ira Magaziner, the Chief Executive Officer and the Vice Chair of the Clinton Health Access Initiative said that the partnership was the first of kind in the region and Rwanda chosen the ideal country due to its progress towards health promotion especially in the rural.

  • Lake Kivu: Potential for energy or cataclysmic disaster for ages

    Imagine wandering into a village and everything motionless. Just a mound of lifeless bodies lying around, leaving you horrified. Such a terrible scene would qualify for horror movie but this is exactly what happened in the villages around Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1986, where more than 1,700 people instantly died from asphyxiation after inhaling huge quantities of carbon dioxide emitted from the lake.

     Such terrible natural disasters are rare that only two have ever been recorded, once in 1984 from Lake Monoun and the other in Lake Nyos but now an even greater danger lies dormant. Lake Kivu, which is much bigger and shared by Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and situated in a more densely populated region could potentially be the source of a devastating calamity.

    Lake Kivu is among three of rare water bodies in the world known as limnic lakes . Lakes such as these have the property of erupting massive amounts of carbon dioxide, a phenomenon known as a lake overturn. An event that could be triggered by various catalysts such as an eruption, or earthquake if the saturation of the carbon dioxide contained within the lake reaches critical levels of 100 percent. To illustrate this in layman terms, prior to a lake being saturated, it behaves like an unopened carbonated beverage (soft drink) : the carbon dioxide is dissolved in the water similarly to how it is dissolved in the lake. In both the lake and the soft drink, carbon dioxide dissolves much more at high pressure. When the drink is open, the pressure is released thus making the carbon dioxide come out of solution. If the lake reaches full saturation, the pressure exerted by the gases will be more than the pressure caused by the lake thus making it highly unstable and a trigger is all that is required to set off an eruption sending vast amounts of carbon dioxide to bubble out of the lake.

    Fortunately, the chances of such an event transpiring are not high. “The risks are a little bit above 50 percent given the saturation levels of the gas in the lake,” says Augusta Umutoni, Engineer in charge of environmental concern in the Lake Kivu project.

    “The pressure exerted by the gas contained in the lake needs to be more than the hydrostatic pressure of the water,” she adds. This is something that is not likely to occur due to the recent methane gas extraction that is being extracted. Umutoni says that CH4 (methane) has a big partial pressure, if extracted and this significantly reduces the overall pressure exerted by both gases. The extraction of methane gas not only acts as source of vast amounts of energy but it also increases the stability of the lake.

    “The lake produces more gas and recharges itself at a rate of 150 million cubic metres per year ; this would take about 100 years for it to reach critical saturation levels of 100 percent. Presently, we are still on 57 percent level of saturation, she says, adding that this diminish the danger.

    Umutoni points out that Lake Kivu is situated in a region of high seismic and volcanic activity. It is even close to Mount Nyiragongo , which erupted in 2002. The eruption caused lava to cover a big portion of Goma city and this streamed down to Lake Kivu. “At the time, there was fear that the lava would cause gas saturated waters to rise to the surface. Luckily, this did not happen,” she says.

    “After the explosion, the European Union sent an expedition of experts to investigate on this and it was discovered that the lava had sunk to a depth of around 100 meters beneath the lake, where the main gradient of the gas is at 260 metres. This indicates that a seismic wave that would only be able to make lava reach at that point and trigger a lake overturn would have to be one of monumental magnitude.” observes Augusta, something that is unlikely to occur.

    She says that this improbability should not be taken for granted, because there is another area of Lake Kivu , known as Kibuno Bay that contains 100 percent saturation levels of carbon dioxide. The discovery of this has prompted the establishment of a de-gasing plant to reduce the risks. However, she says that installation and implementation of this project is far from being underway.

    Umutoni observes that Lake Kivu seems to be as fascinating as much as it is potentially hazardous. “Nevertheless, it would be safe to assume that the dangers lying around the lake despite their great disastrous potential have low probability of occurrence. The methane gas project for now is an excellent way to avert this danger in the long term by not only providing greater socio-economic benefit but by also maintaining and perhaps increasing the stability of this great lake,” she recaps. 

  • Minibus crash kills 16

    A minibus crash on the Kigali-Gitarama highway left 16 passengers dead on Saturday evening.

    The public transport minibus was crushed by a cargo truck as it tried to overtake it on an exit route out of the city at a area popularly known as Kugiti Cyinyoni.

    The police and rescue teams made up of senior government officials, the Commissioner General of Police, Emmanuel Gasana and Kigali City mayor , Fidele Ndayisaba, locals and journalists including those from IGIHE.com, were quick to report to the scene

    “The accident happened at about 18:30 outside Kigali, on the road towards Gitarama,” police spokesperson Theos Badege told the media.

    “The minibus carrying 19 passengers tried to overtake the truck but found itself facing an oncoming vehicle. On returning to the middle of the road it hit the truck.

    “The minibus was dragged to the side of the road by the truck and flattened,” he said.

    “Of the 19 passengers, 16 were killed. The three others were taken to hospital. The two people travelling in the truck were not hurt.”

    Due the severity of the accident, the first victim was pulled out after a protracted four hour effort. The injured three were immediately rushed to hospital for intensive care. Those present in the truck were unhurt.

    The rescue mission lasted approximately six hours at 12.45 am. 

  • Investing in hydropower infrastructure alone futile-minister

    The State Minister of Energy and Water, Eng. Coletha U. Ruhamya has said that investing in hydropower infrastructure without putting resources in skills development would be a nonstarter. 

    The minister made the remarks during a graduation ceremony of 30 newly graduated technicians who undertook a four week course in Hydropower operation and maintenance held in the Conference Room of the Ministry of Infrastructure on Friday.

    “Hydropower Plants are important for achieving goals. Rwanda has big potential for small and big Hydropower Plants that can be developed in order to supply electricity to our people.”

    She challenged the new graduated technicians to get involved in local projects and be the driving force with other partnering companies to develop new sites and manage those presently under construction. The minister congratulated the technicians and thanked the trainers for their time and sacrifice.

    Oliver Ngororabanga from REPRO, explained to the audience the operations of the newly Power Plant located in the Western Province (former Kibuye) that has been operational here since last year. The plant was put up from March 2008 up to March 2010.

    In his speech, a trainer from the Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre in Zambia, that undertook the training, said that any meaningful investment in infrastructure without the necessary skills for appropriate relatedness is a wasted investment. He outlined the importance of acquiring skills in hydropower, stating that it was vital for the country’s infrastructure. He also pointed that “our business is to ensure there are skills for higher power operations.” He disclosed that plans are underway to put up a Hydropower centre for Africa. He thanked the Rwandan government for taking the initiative to invest in skills transfer and hoped for continued partnership.”

    In an interview with IGIHE.com, one of those who undertook the course Ben Mategeko disclosed that the first phase of the training took two weeks in Zambia while the second phase was held in Kigali over a similar period.

    “The skills gained were really important, most trainees had theoretical background, some had little experience in hydropower plants but were exposed to huge power plants such as the Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre power plant (in Zambia), which generates about 990 megawatts, which is really enormous. It’s something that Rwanda is trying to emulate. The other great experience is the hands on experience.”

    He said that “what was learned from Zambia if properly utilised in Rwanda can contribute to the energy efficiency.”

    Those present at the event were representatives from the ministry of Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA), various companies involved in development and construction of Hydropower including ARED, ENNY, REPRO, REGREPOWER, Digitech, GIZ, CTB and trainers from Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre in Zambia.

     

  • KCB to pump billions into struggling subsidiaries

    The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) group Board of Directors has approved an additional Sh1.9 billion capital injection to support the growth of the bank’s struggling regional subsidiaries.

    Group chairman Peter Muthoka said the increased investment is meant to help the subsidiaries speed up their financial performance, and yield better returns to the shareholders.

    The beneficiaries of the new funding include KCB Uganda (Sh1.1 billion), KCB Tanzania (Sh225 million) and KCB Rwanda (Sh557 million). With the exception of KCB Sudan, these subsidiaries returned an accumulated net loss of Sh259 million last year, diluting the Group’s overall profitability.

    Performed better

    KCB Uganda reported a loss of Sh409 million, while KCB Tanzania and KCB Rwanda registered losses of Sh111 million, and Sh318 million, respectively. KCB Sudan, however, performed better than expected, returning a profit before tax (PBT) of Sh581 million.

    “KCB Sudan reported a good profit last year, and is poised for better returns in 2011 whereas KCB Rwanda and KCB Uganda are moving closer to profit making. KCB Tanzania is now stable, and should become more profitable going forwards,” said Muthoka. He, however, said all regional subsidiaries would be expected to break- even this year.

    Muthoka also said the KCB board would be reviewing the operations of each subsidiary as it seeks the right business model which delivers increased returns to the investors.

    “The board has agreed to increase investment in the subsidiaries this year to enable them accelerate their financial performance,” Muthoka told shareholders during the bank’s 40th annual general meeting (AGM) in Nairobi, yesterday. Muthoka said the board has also approved wide-ranging business 

  • Europcar rental agency: more than just a car

    One of the largest car rental agencies in the world Europcar set up its operations in Rwanda in January of 2011 without much fanfare. But five months on, the company is already making Rwandans to stop and take notice. 

    Going by the motto ’You rent more than a car”, the local agency consists of a management team, an operational team, marketing and sales team that have already managed to rapidly gain a huge client base. Some of the firms major clients within this short time span include international organisations, NGOs, the U.S Embassy as well as individuals who rent cars to travel for long distances.

    The Europcar offices are adjacent to Gorilla Hotel in the plush Kiyovu estate in Kigali.

     The operations manager of the local agency is Leonard Mugisha, a suave Ugandan-born chap of Rwandan descent, who is convincingly adept at lionising his firm. After giving me a short summary of Europa cars history, I ask him what the benefits of renting a car from Europa car agency rather than another car agency in Rwanda or abroad.

    “Firstly,the maintenance and servicing of the vehicles is one of our major responsibilities and we take seriously what we believe in, though we know how to keep our customers happy even while dealing with the competitive rates, we always remember our long term relationships have been due to our customer satisfaction,” he says.

     Europcar deals with millions of different types of cars every single day and for every car that is rented, the agency takes full responsibility for not only the insurance cover but also the delivery of the vehicle the customer has requested for. Mugisha told IGIHE.com that the vehicle with the highest demand in Rwanda is the Toyota Land Cruiser VXV8, especially by various organisations, private companies, as well as many of the CEO’S of corporate companies such as Tigo. Mugisha discloses that all these cars are 2010 models. 

    The company rents a Toyota Land Cruiser VXV8 at Rwf 100 million, whether the car is brand new or second hand. Renting and leasing isn’t the only service the agency provides.

    “A client may also hire qualified professional drivers to drive you during your lease of the car,” discloses Mugisha.

    Europcar, a car rental agency that was established in 1945 in Paris, France, now has 145 different rental agencies across the globe, in the Caribbean, North America, the middle east, the United kingdom, Russia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda and now Rwanda. iin all these countries, there are over 2,825 different car models rented in 3,000 different locations.

    Europcar, which has two divisions ; Europcar France and Europcar International, partners with a few of the great names in the car industry including Accor, Volkswagen, Thalys, Renault and Mercedes, as well as working with other partners such as Delta Air Lines and Easy jet. Their solid reputation for professionalism has made them the top third car rental brand in the world.

     The various prestigious awards that have over a decade placed themselves in their world trophy accolade include the number one and best car rental company in Europe and Africa in 2004 for three consecutive years and the world’s best leisure car in 2006.

    One of leading rental car agencies in the world has come to Rwanda not to compete against us but with us, says Mugisha.

    “Though we are still new, we are now working towards building a relationship with the government of Rwanda”, “I have personally seen what a great and diverse culture Rwanda has and we are hoping to recruit more Rwandans in order to enlarge the diversity of our agency. ”

    “Like I said with Europcar agency you are renting more than just car,” he aptly recap.

     

  • When seeds of peace turned sour in Gahini

     It was Wednesday, 27 April 2011, and the day began like any other. Characteristically, people went about their routine daily exertions at one of Bishop Alex Birindabagabo’s farms in Ryamanyoni Cell, Murundi Sector, 4kms away from Gahini, Kayonza District, Apophia Mukampabuka, who coordinates milk supplies at a restaurant oddly named Seeds of Peace, received the morning’s supply of fresh milk from the Bishop’s farm.

     “I received boiled milk as usual and before I stored it, I drunk a cupful ; but the following day, I lost consciousness and I was admitted to the hospital,” recalls Mukampabuka, from her hospital bed at Gahini Hospital. Mukampabuka, who has since been under treatment at Gahini Hospital for a week, says she developed symptoms of fever, severe headache, vomiting and diarrhoea immediately after she took the milk.

     In a period of less than 24 hours after partaking the milk, over 15 other workers at the Seedss of Peace Restaurant had been admitted to Gahini Hospital. Two days later, on Monday 2 May, 2011, Gahini Secondary School students, their head teacher, school bursar and others who took the milk fell victim to the ill-fated milk.

     At least 30 people had been admitted at Gahini Hospital and King Faycal Hospital in Kigali after drinking suspected poisoned milk from Gahini High School and ‘Seeds of Peace’.

    Gahini Diocese which supplies the Gahini school canteen doubles as the owner of ‘Seedss of Peace’ restaurant located on the shores of idyllic Lake Muhazi.

    On the fateful day, Flavia Kabenga, the owner of one of the school canteens sent a worker at the Seedss of Peace restaurant to fetch cultured buttermilk, to ferment the day’s supply of fresh milk.

    “I sent a person to get for me two spoons of cultured buttermilk which I used to ferment 10 litres of fresh milk that I had brought from Kiramuruzi on Thursday. Then on Friday, they (students and teachers) took the fermented sour milk and on Saturday, they started falling sick,” Kabenga recalls.

    Apophia Mukampabuka who fetched the fermented milk to Kabenga also concurs that the milk may have been the source of the food poisoning.

    The manager at the Bishop’s farm, Innocent Karagire says that after milking in the wee hours of last Wednesday, he apportioned some milk for consumption by his family of five, and sent the rest for delivery to the Seeds of Peace Restaurant. According to Karagire, a worker only know as Joseph, made a stopover on the way at Karubamba market to buy a bottle of juice and left the bicycle ferrying the milk with a friend.

     Joseph later delivered the 19 litres of fresh milk to Mukampabuka, who in turn asked Ntaganzwa to boil it.

     As a ritual, the elderly Ntaganzwa who lives within the restaurant and doubles as a security guard at the Bishop’s house reserved two litres of milk for himself after boiling it. “I set aside one litre (of the milk) and drunk it but I never fell sick,” Ntaganzwa says.

     How Ntaganzwa never fell sick remains a mystery to many of his co-workers. They also pointed an accusing finger at Joseph. 

     A majority of patients have since convalesced and been discharged from the hospital.

     Dr. Alfonse Muvunyi, the Director of Gahini Hospital told IGIHE.com the cause of the food poisoning is yet to be determined but samples are already at the laboratory with the results due soon.

     Denise Uwera Rudasingwa, the Head of the Health Department at Kayonza District says that irresponsible handling of milk could have caused the poisoning adding that distributing and selling toxic milk to the public was extremely unacceptable.

     “Dirty containers exposed to house flies could cause the illness we saw…it is unfortunate and some people could face the law for their irresponsible behaviour,” she declares.

     She observes that the kitchen at the restaurant was rather grimy adding that since the local hospital was ill-equipped to determine the cause of the poisoning, samples were sent to the National Laboratory.

     Police spokesperson Theos Badege says that the inspection team from the district and the police in the area decided to close the Seeds of Peace restaurant to carry out further investigations.

     Luckily for the victims of Gahini, they at least walked away with their lives. Food borne illness usually arises from improper handling, preparation, or food storage. Good hygiene practices before, during, and after food preparation can reduce the chances of contracting an illness. There is a consensus in the public health community that regular hand-washing is one of the most effective defenses against the spread of food borne illness.

     In Rwanda’s food culture, milk is considered a “staple” amongst both adults and children. Across the country, the importance of cattle and thereby milk in the Rwandan society is demonstrated in the proverb ushaka inka arara nkazo (He who seeks to obtain cattle is made to sleep outdoors like them). The consumption of milk and dairy products (mainly from cattle) is important to their health. The production of milk and butter is usually carried out by a process of fermentation with the use of traditional technology. But there should be mechanisms to ensure that this is carried out in a hygienic manner. Otherwise, the Gahini case would not be the last we hear of. 

  • Ingabire, Erlinder due in court soon

    Cases involving opposition politician Victoire Ingabire and American lawyer Peter Erlinder will soon be reviewed.

     Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga says that files of Genocide deniers like Erlinder and Ingabire and 29 suspects of grenade attacks in the country are to be handed in to the courts soon.

     Mr. Ngoga said that Ingabire will be summoned in court on May 16.

     Ingabire is accused of committing various crimes including genocide denial, collaborating with terror groups to distort national security and ethnic divisionism. 

     He said prosecution some countries, including the Netherlands and Switzerland responded to formal requests.

    Rwanda had filed several legal requests to a number of European countries and the US to furnish it with evidence where Ingabire’s conducted illegal activities, particularly financing rebel outfits to cause instability in the country.

    Other evidence had been gathered from Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) while more is expected from Belgium.

    Rwanda’s prosecutor- general Martin Ngoga said that prosecution is ready to re-launch charges against Erlinder.

    Files of the 29 suspects of grade attacks are also being transferred to the high court for the law to take its course.

    Ingabire is facing terrorism charges with the prosecution alleging that she was working with senior FDLR militiamen to form a military wing known as Coalition of Defence Forces (CDF) aimed at destabilising Rwanda.

    She is also accused of promoting ethnic divisions, propagating the genocide ideology and trivialising the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

    On the other hand, Peter Erlinder is accused of genocide denial, genocide ideology and of being a threat to national security.

  • German parliamentarians extol Gacaca trials

    Visiting members of the German Parliament have warded off previous reservations about Gacaca Genocide trials and will return home prepared to share their experiences with their compatriots and across Europe.

    Christoph Straesser, the head of the delegation, acknowledged this on May 3 after discussions with the Minister of Justice, Tharcisse Karugarama.

    “We came here to get some information about the ongoing work on the genocide trials especially the Gacaca courts in Rwanda. It is not a case of politics. It is the case of improving our justice system in Germany,” said Strasser,

    “We had a lot of debates about the work of the Gacacas and now we got an impressive speech from the minister and we are very impressed. I think it was a good delegation and we can [now] go home and discuss these things”.

    The legislators were drawn from three political parties ; the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

    They are members of the German Bundestag’s Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid.

    Karugarama told reporters that, during their closed-door meeting, the group said that they learnt a lot.

    “There are so many things that they can go back home and explain to their people, especially, the strides this country has made in Genocide-related trials,” said Karugarama.

    “They had a lot of reservations on Gacaca. We went through the whole process, from 1994 – the intervention this country had to make, and why. And the challenges at the time, and now.”

    The minister said the Germans now appreciate the context and circumstances in which it was delivered, as well as the achievements.

    The delegation held talks with their Rwandan counterparts and government officials and visited the Gencoide memorial site in Gisozi before heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

     

  • Should Rwandans participate in the Big Brother Africa Reality Show?

    This year’s edition of Big Brother Africa (BBA), the television reality show, is underway in South Africa without Rwandan contestants yet again. Surprisingly, countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, which are in the same region as Rwanda, continue to send contestants to the show. This raises many questions on why Rwanda continues to miss out on the show despite its buoyant local entertainment industry. IGIHE.com interviewed some prominent Rwandan artists to gauge their opinions. Below are their comments :

    Alpha Rwirangira, the winner of 2009 Tusker Project Fame (TPF).
    “Rwandans cannot participate in the BBA because there is no privacy in that house. According to the Rwandan culture, it is unacceptable to expose one’s privacy. People’s privacy is very important in Rwanda ; one cannot feel content when they see their daughters and sons exposing themselves in the name of gaining fame. ”

    Former Miss Kigali now Miss East Africa, Cynthia Akazuba
    “I cannot participate in the show because contestants are exposed to cameras everywhere in the house. Besides, Rwanda has its own culture. If other cultures allow nudity, it does not mean that we will do the same. We have our own culture which represents who we are ; it does not mean that we have to ape all the western influence.”

    Mani Martin, Singer
    “I would wish to see Rwandans take part in the BBA. I believe Rwanda has people who qualify to be in the show and I do not think that it is against the Rwandan culture. This is not true that BBA exposes housemates’ nudity. The exposure is among those caught in nasty acts. If you don’t do funny things in the house, when will the cameras capture you ?”

    Edward Bamporiki, film producer and scriptwriter.
    “Rwandans should take part in the BBA as long as they qualify. I believe that housemates’ nudity is exposed because they want it that way. BBA is like acting in a movie where you are asked to do things that do not reflect your real life experience.”

    Fred Kalisa, Movie Actor
    “BBA is against our culture and I can never do what is against our culture”.

    Dickson Rwiyamirira, Contact FM Radio Presenter and a Tusker Project Fame judge during last year’s auditions in Kigali.

    “Rwandans cannot take part in BBA because they are too shy and respect their culture. ”