Author: Elie Imanishimwe

The national household-based survey will measure the reach and impact of Rwanda’s HIV prevention, care, and treatment services across the country.

“Data collected from RPHIA will provide critical insights on the successes and challenges Rwanda faces in confronting the HIV epidemic. RPHIA participants will also benefit from free and confidential HIV testing, counselling and treatment referrals.” said Dr. Patrick Ndimubanzi, Minister of State for Public and Primary Health.

RPHIA will start collecting household data on October 12, 2018 in the Northern Province. The survey is anticipated to last through February 2019.

Over the course of five months, trained survey personnel will visit approximately 10800 randomly selected households and collect demographic, clinical, and behavioural information from consenting participants. Staff will also perform HIV and hepatitis B and C testing. All participants will receive counselling as part of RPHIA.

Meanwhile, results from HIV and hepatitis B virus tests will be returned to participants on the same day. RPHIA will also provide viral load testing for those who test HIV positive.

Participants who test positive for HIV and those selected for hepatitis B and C testing will be referred to health facilities of their choice for further follow up to receive further counseling and HIV treatment as well as the vaccine or treatment for hepatitis B. They will also receive hepatitis C test results.

RPHIA will help health authorities and policymakers better understand the impact of HIV on everyone in the population, not only people living with HIV but also their family, friends and the community at large.

“RPHIA survey personnel have been extensively trained and are ready to implement a successful survey.” says David Hoos, managing director, ICAP at Columbia University.
Rwanda has intensified HIV testing and treatment strategies and prioritised evidence-based interventions with the goal of achieving epidemic control by 2020.

Shyirakera who says hid 10 people during the genocide including some of Mugesera family members who lived in Rugerero Sector, Rubavu District and later transported them to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Mugesera noted that it was courageous of Shyirakera to hide people he didn’t know, with vast risks involved.

“What he did is a fine example. He risked his life in in hiding these people,” he said.
Shyirakera said that he hid Mugesera’s relatives because of his generous heart. He also thanked Mugesera for returning that kindness.

“I couldn’t imagine that an official could take time and come to thank me. That is very good. I hid these people during the genocide because of my generous heart. The children I saved became good to me and took care of me. These cows I have been given will help me in my old age,” he said.

When Shyirakera hid the people, Interahamwe would come to search for them on a daily basis until he fled with them to Congo where he handed them over to an orphanage to take care of them.

Mugesera is a Rwandan researcher and and historian.

Police have been travelling around the country in their operations to crack down on individuals who smuggle goods to Rwanda. This resident was caught in the operations on October 8th 2018.

Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) has announced that the businessman had evaded Rwf4,500,000 worth of taxes.

Police spokesperson in the Southern Province, CIP Bonavanture Karekezi, announced that after the police received this information, they immediately organised an operation to search this man’s house where they found the second-hand clothes.

“Residents informed us that the businessman sells smuggled second-hand clothes. Police department in charge of fighting illegal business went to search in his house and found the bales there,” he said.

He further thanked the residents for their collaboration with security personnel in fighting crime and urged all to contribute to national development by diligently paying due taxes.

Among the tools recently developed and put into use are the new REG website, the online expropriation database as well as the online new connection request platform.

During the official launch of the tools at REG headquarters on October 9th 2018, REG CEO Eng. Ron Weiss announced that the reforms in the energy sector will help them to exchange information with their customers and providing them with fast services. He added that the energy sector is seeking excellence in service provision.

“We want to our customers not only to be satisfied by the service we give them, but also to easily access these services. Customers should not always come to our offices to get services. They can do it more easily online,” he said.

Weiss said that REG targets to facilitate people doing business in Rwanda through reducing the time they would have to wait after submitting their application.

“We are targeting to reduce the time to 20 days down from 36 days for someone to get electricity. Our big clients including industries, hotels, health centres that use more electricity are especially the ones that use this new system. Small clients may still continue to come to our offices,” he said.

The current households connected to the national electricity grid and offline are estimated at 46.46%.

REG New website

The new website was designed to be more user friendly, displaying most of the information needed by the public at first glance. Sections providing customers with important information were added and integrated. These include Twitter posts and replies, planned power outages, tariffs, projects related information and statistics, frequently asked questions, REG customer charter, energy statistics, corruption reporting telephone number as well as the contacts of all branch managers, among others.

All the online service platforms are also linked to this new website at the top menu section.
Online new connection request form

In line with REG ambitions to ease doing business, new connection requests will be requested either online or through hard copy forms as it was done before. There is no need to visit REGr branches to get a new connection. Customers will just click on top menu of our website and click on the “new connection request” icon. After filling in the form, concerned branches will immediately start processing the requests without obliging the customers to go to the branches.

Online expropriation database

As a long-term strategy to control developments around expropriation once and for all, REG has developed an online tool through which beneficiaries can request for expropriation information and check respective file status. It is important for the beneficiaries to always be ready with necessary support documents such as their own National Identity Cards, Active Bank Accounts, proof of land or property ownership for those whose property are to be affected among others.

Another platform which is still under development is the public database where post-paid customers will be able to view all their bills and payment history online without waiting for a monthly invoice or visiting REG offices. This database is expected to functional by the end of this month.

During the International Olympic Committee Tuesday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, nine New International Olympic Committee (IOC) members were re-elected , three re-elected after eight years of membership and four completing their mandate will become INC honorary members.

Five new individual Members (three women and two men) and four representatives of the constituents of the Olympic Movement were elected, following a proposal by the IOC Executive Board in July 2018.

Others elected are; Daina Gudzineviciute (Lithuania), President of the Lithuanian Olympic Committee and five-time Olympian.

Felicite Rwemarika (Rwanda), First Vice-President of the Rwandan Olympic Committee.
Camilo Pérez López Moreira (Paraguay), President of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee.
Giovanni Malagò (Italy) , President of the Italian Olympic Committee effective from 1 January 2019.

Samira Asghari (Afghanistan) , member of the Athletes’ Entourage Commission since 2014.

{{Representatives of the Olympic Movement
}}

Two Members linked to a function within a National Olympic Committee (NOC) or world or continental association of NOCs:

William Frederick Blick (Uganda), President of the Ugandan Olympic Committee.
HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck (Bhutan), President of the Bhutanese Olympic Committee.

Two Members linked to a function within an International Sports Federation (IF) or association of IFs, or an organisation recognised by the IOC:

Morinari Watanabe (Japan), President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
Andrew Parsons (Brazil), President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Félicite Rwemalika is the first Rwandan to be elected to the IOC. She and her committee members will be in charge of organising the 2020 Olympics games that will be held in Tokyo, Japan in the summer of 2020.

{{Félicite, 60, has a a strong background in Rwanda’s sports.
}}

FERWAFA Executive Board member since 2007
1st vice president of Rwanda Olympic and Sports Committee
Holds Diploma in FIFA leadership development program
Head of Women’s football in FERWAFA since 2007 to date
Member of executive committee of U17 CAF Championship and U23 World Championships 2012
Member of CECAFA women commission since 2011
Member of international Olympic Committee commission
President and founder of Association of Women in Sports AKWOS since 2004
Continental IOC award for Women in Sport 2016
ASHOKA fellowship award international organization for change makers from 2012 up to date

The rains are projected to reach between 20 and 30 millimeters per day mixed with storms.
According to the statement, 10 districts that will be affected by natural disasters including floods and landslides are: Musanze, Gicumbi, Gakenke, Burera, Nyabihu, Rubavu, Rusizi, Nyamasheke, Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru.

It is also clear that during this rainy season, storms will be frequent.
Meteorologists say that there will be abundant rainfall even if in some areas rains have delayed.

In the last four months, Rwanda has spent more than Rwf340 million in mitigating problems and helping victims of natural disasters. In the first five months of 2018, natural disasters killed 215 people.

The cows were given through Rwanda Dairy Development Project under Rwanda Agricultural Board which continues its support to Girinka Program.

Olive Yamfashije, a beneficiary from Kabarondo Sector told IGIHE that she is going to get rid of malnutrition-related diseases from her household.

“From now on, there will be no more kwashiorkor in my house. This cow is going to give me manure and milk. You understand that I have already developed. I’m wondering how many people I would have to cultivate for in return for money to buy my own cow.” She said.

Pierre Buhirike, 58, a resident of Ndego Sector who was also given a cow said it is a treasured contribution because he is going to drink milk in his old age.

“Usually, I would find milk to drink from neighbours. But for now, I am glad that I will be getting manure and my family will drink milk. ”

Buhirike expressed gratitude to the President Paul Kagame for the Girinka initiative, political stability, security and peace.

Kayonza District mayor, Jean Claude Murenzi urged residents who were given the cows to take good care of them to give heifers to other vulnerable residents.

Zuberi Muvunyi the Director General of Clinical and Public Health Services at the Ministry of Health said that the size of the Chinese medical team in Rwanda reached over 200 members in only 18 missions. This, he said, indicates the extent of bilateral health cooperation between Rwanda and China.

Muvunyi, who also awarded certificates of honor to members of the 18th Chinese medical team, said health cooperation between the two countries has had important developments in different areas including infrastructure, equipment and education, targeting further cooperation in redeveloping Rwanda’s health sector in harmonization with needs of the Rwandan people and considering developments in regional integration.

The 18th Chinese medical team working in Kigali’s Masaka Hospital and Kibungo Hospital in Eastern Province made real contribution to the improvement of local health services, said Xing Yuchun, charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda.

Since 1982 when China sent its first medical team to Rwanda, Chinese medics have treated more than 800,000 Rwandans and carried out over 26,000 operations, said Xing.

Besides, they have been providing medical equipment, training Rwandan medical personnel and transferring medical knowledge and skills to trainees and other Rwandan people, she added.

“The Chinese medical team helped us and treated our patients, which led to improvements of Rwandan people’s health,” said Kibungo Hospital director William Namanya.

He added that the Chinese doctors also helped with capacity building of medical staff working in the hospital.