On 23 January 2011, President Paul Kagame inaugurated the US$5.8 million ultra modern Butaro Hospital in Burera District built in partnership with the government of Rwanda, Partners in Health, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). The people of Burera also contributed their part. The tech savvy hospital, equipped with outstanding modern facilities and high speed internet connectivity, is located in a remote region of Rwanda near the border with Uganda.
When President Kagame visited Burera district in 2003, residents told him there was nothing they wanted more than a hospital. He promised he would deliver, and immediately began sourcing for funding and partners. In 2008, former US President Bill Clinton offered financial support and launched the construction of the hospital.
At the time, Burera had the least developed public health infrastructure in Rwanda. It was one of the last two districts in the country without a hospital; one physician served a population of over 320,000 and electricity, water and sanitation services were scarce. Health indicators in Burera were among the poorest in the nation.
Like King Faisal and University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), Butaro has a clinical, radiology, pharmacy, laboratory, dentistry, physiotherapy and HIV and Counceling department, an accident and emergency unit and operation theatre support services. Equipment was purchased using funds from the Ministry of Health and contains a range of brand new, high quality hardware, including two digital X-ray systems, sonosite portable ultrasound machines, specialty surgery instrument kits, orthopedic traction beds, advanced anesthesia machines, an oxygen generating plant that pipes oxygen to the bedside, and incubators. There are also phototherapy lights and warming tables for advanced neonatal care. A high capacity, diesel-powered medical waste incinerator, morgue refrigeration system, and autopsy table and kits are also available.
Sixteen doctors, 86 nurses and three midwives will staff the hospital. To provide adequate and modern health services, Rwanda intends to establish similar hospitals like the one in Butaro across the country. President Kagame was quoted in The New Times saying “we realized that we alone cannot achieve it [and] that is why we are so pleased to have partners who understand our priorities and put their effort and resources.”
The new hospital will not only provide medication, it will also feed patients. While many people in the rural area have abundant food, some families do not. Therefore the hospital will also provide food support for out-patients who are poor or malnourished. This will be especially so for patients with diseases like HIV, TB or malnutrition. Patients from around the province and elsewhere will flock to the hospital looking for good medical services, which will create an influx of patients to the hospital.
The hospital is so close to Uganda, about 5km from the boarder, some patients are expected to also use the facility. Patients come from Uganda across the border and the hospital treats them for free.
Rwanda’s health indicators, in general, have been progressing in past years. There is currently one doctor for every 18,000 people, and one nurse for every 1,690. A national survey completed in 2008 indicates that 62.8 percent of nurses serve in rural areas and 38.2 percent in urban areas. In 2002, for example, only 11 health centers in the
country offered free testing for pregnant women to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child. As of June 2010, there are currently 390 sites that now offer this service. Preventative measures have also seen the risk of HIV positive pregnant woman passing the disease to her baby reduced to 4.1 percent from over 25 percent.
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