The purpose of the campaign is to remind Rwandans to test for ‘Hepatitis C’.
Figures show that 5% of Rwandans have the infection. It is acquired through unprotected sex, blood, bodily fluids and children born to infected parents are more likely to acquire it as well.
Minister of Health Dr. Diane Gashumba said that every Rwandan is encouraged to test in order to know their status.
“Testing is important because hepatitis C is a treatable infection. If today the government of Rwanda is investing in the capacity with its stakeholders to reduce the cost of drugs, Rwandans should know their status and so we can get enough drugs to treat them all and prevent new hepatitis C prevalence,” she said.
“In five years, about 5 million Rwandans should be tested, but can’t we do so in one month? Our citizens are willing and we have partners, the government is willing to provide all the necessary requirements to eradicate this infection before five years,” she added.
In 2016, the Government of Rwanda agreed with Gilead Industry, an American pharmaceutical company, to reduce the cost of Hepatitis C drugs. The current price has reduced from 95,000 USD to 1200 USD.
Due to the high cost of the drugs, the government of Rwanda has continued to support, so that the patient cannot pay more than $100 and recover in three months.
Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) Director General, Dr. Jeanine Condo, said that until now there are no figures of Rwandans killed by Hepatitis C. But they want to take tough measures to stop it.
To date, Hepatitis B has a vaccine, and people are required to be vaccinated against it, because when one acquires it, they have to be on treatment throughout their whole life. Hepatitis C has no vaccine but can be cured.
The Ministry of Health in Rwanda reports that if 100 people with Hepatitis C were to be treated, 91 would recover.
On December 6th, the Supreme Court acquitted Diane Nshimiyimana Rwigara and Adeline Mukangemanyi for the charges against them including making and using fake documents, plotting to incite public riots as well as discrimination and divisionism.
At that time, the judge ruled that there was no clear evidence on the Prosecution side, and decided that in all cases, “the prosecution’s accusations have no basis.” He further stated that “the aforesaid is not guilty.”
He further stated: “We hope the Supreme Court will accept our request for a decision.”
The prosecution immediately announced that “as usual they respect court decisions.”
In a statement posted on Twitter, it continued: “We are going to read carefully and analyze the Court’s decision in the case of the Prosecution and Diane Rwigara and her fellows, and decide what to do in accordance with the law.”
In an interview with journalists on Wednesday, Prosecutor General Jean Bosco Mutangana said the prosecution will appeal the court’s decision to release Diane Rwigara and her mother.
“We are not pleased with the judgment. We will appeal the decision. After repeating the trial, the Prosecution decided to file a case in the Court of Appeal,” he said.
He said they think the evidence given by the Prosecution was sufficient because Diane Rwigara and her mother were accused of serious crimes.
He further stated: “We hope that if the Court of Appeal accepts our request, they will make a decision.”
Diane Rwigara and her mother, Mukangemanyi, were arrested on September 23, 2017.
This year’s edition, the third of its kind, of Combined Arms Field Training Exercise was done under the theme “Hard Punch.”
The exercises were carried out as army officers displayed how small and big weapons are used for reinforcement of the army units fighting the enemy at the battlefield.
Weapons used by the air force, land arms and marine arms were all put on a show.
Recounting his previous battles that were won by sheer determination, President Kagame said capacity is far way beyond having military materiel. “We used to go to the battlefield with 10 bullets in our guns, our enemies had maybe 100. But to win the war, you do not need 100 bullets. When the bullets are done, you are the one left standing to accomplish the mission.”
“I also want to thank you because this job you have chosen of protecting citizens, requires more from you than what you are given, in terms of salary or means available to us but it does not stop you from doing the work we do. You work under the sun, the rain, in the middle of forests and different environments and we ask ourselves whether what we give you is enough. The answer is that it can never be enough because this job goes beyond the individual, it is for the nation. What we do requires of us more than we have but it means that every resource we have is used to deliver to our maximum ability. Every bullet you shoot counts. Every resource you use must accomplish its purposes. We do not have room to waste. We have to deliver results beyond the resources we have. Nothing is impossible as long as we have the right mindset and values. Our enemies can only wish us ill but they will never be able to defeat us. Anyone who dares to threaten our security will fail.” He noted
President Kagame further commended Rwanda’s armed forces strength, saying that “Anyone who dares to threaten our security will fail”.
The trainings were given to army officers in the Rwanda Defence Force 3rd Division whose headquarters are in Gisenyi, Rubavu District representing the RDF Northern/Western regional command of which Commander is Maj. Gen. Alex Kagame.
Last year’s edition of the combined arms field training exercise- which was the second- was held on November 10, 2017, presided over by President Kagame and it was followed by his meeting with RDF senior officials, representatives of other security organs, and militaries who had undergone that exercise.
Kagame told them that the exercises are among activities of RDF done in order to build capacity and professionalism so achieve its mission.
The first edition of the exercise was also held at Gabiro Combat Training Centre on November 5, 2016.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Registrar General, Richard Kayibanda, said:
“We are honored to receive the first regional workshop in patent matters that brings together a high number of representatives of intellectual property offices, members of WIPO and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization. This demonstrates the importance of intellectual property in our respective countries and our commitment to take advantage of available tools to spur scientific development and innovation.
Rwanda’s Vision 2020 highlights human resource development and a knowledge-based economy as one of its six priorities. To build a knowledge-based economy, intellectual property protection is central to converting knowledge, information, and ideas into tradable intellectual property assets, ensuring that the national economy continues to thrive,” Kayibanda concluded.
Rwanda joined the Patent Cooperation Treaty and Harare Protocol in 2011. Since the accession to these instruments, the number of patent and utility models applications in Rwanda has increased from 48 in 2016 to 162 in 2017 and 409 this year.
The drugs entered the country between 2017 and June 2018 from India and China.
According to FDA’s statement, the decision was taken after a joint investigation by FDA, University of Rwanda (UR) and Tübingen University from Germany indicated that the drugs were substandard.
“FDA is asking all those who prescribe the drugs to stop and enforce the ban. All hospitals, health centers, clinics, and pharmacies are asked to stop prescribing the suspicious drugs until the investigation is over,” says a statement from FDA acting director, Charles Karangwa. “We stopped distributing and using the drugs.”
According to Christophe Bazivamo, the EAC Deputy Secretary General, “about 70% of medicines used in Africa are manufactured in countries where there is no proper monitoring system.”
The event took place at Cyesamakamba Stadium in Ngoma District.
All the 21 people had been found guilty of genocide crimes by the court, served a term and released, but the Catholic Church did not immediately allow them sacraments.
Instead, the church taught them for a year and six months and took them through a reconciliation process with the families of the victims.
One of the perpetrators, Théoneste Gatesi from Mutendeli Sector, confessed killing Vestine Mukanyamwesa’s son.
When the Genocide was stopped, he escaped but was later arrested on coming back. He confessed, asked for forgiveness and was released.
“Now, I ask for forgiveness from the Government of Rwanda and all Rwandans, all survivors of the Genocide, and I ask God for forgiveness because I violated his laws, namely ‘don’t kill’, ‘don’t steal’ or ‘don’t destroy other people’s properties’ … because I myself was involved in robbery,” he confessed.
Mukamwesa told him that she forgave him, but urged him not to return to such inhuman crimes.
“When the genocide broke, I had three children, but this man (Théoneste Gatesi) killed my eldest son who was six years old. In fact, were it not for God’s mercy, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive him, but for God’s mercy I did,” she said.
“He hit him with a wooden club and killed him. But she apologized to me in the church before the people, before the Catholic Church and in the presence of God. I forgave him,” she added.
The executive secretary for the National Commission for the Fight against the Genocide (CNLG) Fidele Ndayisaba urged those who asked for forgiveness to accompany it with good deeds because they speak better than words.
“The process of forgiveness in the journey of unity and reconciliation in our country is an important way to help us in the long term. What we should keep in mind is that forgiveness does not come from saying I’m sorry or ask for forgiveness, it should be accompanied by good relationships and deeds of love that are manifested every day,” he said.
“This should, therefore, be reflected in a permanent journey. Those we have received today, thank you and stay strong. For those who have apologized and those who forgave them, do not be discouraged by those who have not been able to come forward. Try and help transform others as well,” he added.
Bishop Antoine Kambanda, the new archbishop of Kigali said that apologizing and forgiving takes a great deal of courage, and the Catholic Church will follow up the process of reconciliation that it started.
“It is good for them to apologize. And we are grateful to those who have mercy on us; It is a strong step. It is also a medicine we need to heal and save the Rwandan people, build up our country and build the Church. ”
The 21 genocide perpetrators are in the first phase of those who have received counseling in reconciliation under the auspices of Kibungo Diocese under a program that will continue.
The 20th edition started on December 8 and will be concluded on December 16, 2018. It is attended by experts in the field of cinemas from different countries.
Carole Umulinga Karemera is the artistic director of Ishyo Arts Centre. She is a musician, saxophone player, actress, director, and contemporary dancer. She joined the movie industry in 2002 and starred in films like ‘Sometimes in April’ directed by Raoul Peck, “Sounds of Sand”, directed by Marion Hansel and “Black”, by Pierre Laffargue.
In 2005, she moved to Rwanda and with eight women passionate about arts and culture, started Ishyo Arts Centre in 2006.
She was awarded as a way of recognizing the value of her artistic works and journey.
Karemera said in a brief conversation with IGIHE, that she is “proud to be given the award of such a level, thanks to what has been achieved.”
JTC was attended by 39 countries and will highlight over 157 theatres.
The State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe confirmed that Twala has been summoned by his country.
“Yes. Any government has the right to summon its diplomat at any time,” he said.
Twala has been South Africa’s ambassador to Rwanda since 2012. He is summoned at a time when Rwanda and South Africa have shown willingness to launch talks aimed at re-establishing good relations between the two countries.
President Paul Kagame recently held a meeting with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa when he was in Argentina on the sidelines of G20 summit.
In March President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the problem of Rwandans being denied visas to South Africa would soon become history after holding talks with President Paul Kagame. However, up to now, no signs of good relations between the two countries have bloomed.
Drawn on aspects of Rwandan culture and traditional practices, Umushyikirano is a development program adapted to the country’s needs and context.
It is one of Rwanda’s largest gatherings bringing together leaders and citizens to reflect on the country’s progress and share ideas to solve ongoing challenges.
Governed by Rwanda Constitution Article 140, Umushyikirano is a forum to debate the state of the nation, local government and national unity.
{{Read More: [How eight resolutions made during the 2017 national dialogue been implemented
->http://www.en.igihe.com/news/how-eight-resolutions-made-during-the-2017.html]}}
The official opening of the AMLA 2018 workshop was held at Serena Hotel on Sunday 9th, 2018 and was officiated by the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board Chief Executive officer and Member of Cabinet, Francis Gatare.
The workshop is gathering legal academics and practitioners in mining sector that serve as advisory to the Legal Research Team (LRT) to facilitate knowledge sharing and the creation of a network of specialized African experts.
It brings together about 120 participants from across the world including government officials, private sector representatives, NGOs, international organizations such the World Bank, the African Union Commission, Academics, and 61 advanced law students and legal professionals from 23 African universities and 19 African countries.
Officiating the AMLA, Hon. Gatare noted the importance of the workshop and sharing knowledge on the mining sector, “It is very important to continue to train an important critical mass of professionals that understand mining sector, value chain so to fully benefit from the natural resources.”
He went on, urging participants to be mindful about the balance of how to reward capital investment into the Mining sector.
“As we legislate the mining sector we must be mindful about this delicate balance of how to appropriately reward capital investment into the sector while at the same time providing an appropriate reward for the community which has got the claim over its ownership”, Hon. Gatare said
On that day, Eminent participants from across the continent and beyond including government officials, private sector representatives, NGOs, international organizations such as the World Bank Group Senior Counsel, Legal Vice Presidency, Ms. Nneoma Veronica Nwogu, Ms. Kate Mavuti from Strathmore University, Kenya and various academics who participated in an engaging session on “Governance and Transparency in the Extractive Industry”.
The World Bank Group Senior Counsel, Legal vice Presidency, Nneoma Veronica Nwogu who Facilitated the panel discussion on Governance and transparency in the extractive industry gave a short introduction on the project and how it came to grow.
“The Project was initiated by the legal vice-presidency of the World Bank, which is where I work. We incubated it for three years but it was always designed to run on the African continent by an African Institution because we believe that there is some capacity in the continent and it is important to utilize that capacity, to build for capacity for the continent; and that it is what we are seeing, watching the African legal support facility run the project.” Nneoma Veronica Nwogu said
The project has been supported and is continuously being supported by the Extractives Global Programmatic Support (EGPS), which is helping to see how the World Bank can continue to support this capacity building process.
On capacity building among activities provided within the AMLA, Ms. Veronica Nwogu said, “The program has a very selective approach to bringing students from across the continent to learn together, gain a lot of understanding and hopefully design a career in this sector; in one way or another having the necessary skills to contribute to the development of the Mining sector.”
Another highlight of the opening day is the visit of the Genocide Memorial and the Amazing race, an engaging team-building exercise. After paying a tribute to the victim of the genocide, the participants were split into teams and given a series of challenges, which called upon their cooperation skills, their awareness of government policies and their knowledge of mining laws. Now familiar with one another and their lecturers, the students can look forward to an intensive week of lectures, presentations, and hands-on exercises led by experts in the industry.
Up to date, the AMLA project has trained 140 Advanced African law students and legal professionals, from 54 countries.
The African Mining Legislation Atlas (AMLA) project was initiated by the World Bank’s Legal vice Presidency in 2013, with original funding by African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) and afterward by Extractive Industries Technical Assistance Facilities (EI-TAF). The AMLA project is being implemented in partnership with the ALSF, the African Union Commission (AUC), and several African law faculties.
AMLA is available in English, French, and Portuguese, and contains all 53 existing African mining codes in searchable format, as well as a comparison feature that allows users to compare the legislation provisions of 37 countries (and counting) across 98 commonly addressed topics in a mining law.
{{For more Photos: [https://www.flickr.com/photos/igihepictures/albums/72157702998402541->https://www.flickr.com/photos/igihepictures/albums/72157702998402541]}}
{{
Photos: Serge Muhizi}}
