Switzerland donates US $2.3 million for health needs

Rwanda is to be granted 3.5 million Swiss francs (about US $2.3 million) to improve public health in the western province of Kibuye, the Swiss Embassy in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, announced on Tuesday. The money, provided through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, will go towards a Ministry of Health effort to decrease morbidity and mortality caused by preventable diseases in Kibuye and, the embassy said, "thus contribute to poverty reduction in the province". The Swiss agency will be working with the ministry to implement the project. Technical support and staff will come from the Swiss Tropical Institute. The embassy said the "immediate priority" needs, in particular to overcome the malaria epidemic, would be tackled in the four health districts covered by the project. Malaria accounted for nearly 40 percent of deaths in Kibuye Province, the embassy said. The Swiss donation will enable the ministry to implement its policy of trying to convince the public to use anti-mosquito insecticide-impregnated bed nets as a means of averting malaria infection. This effort will, in particular, the embassy said, target pregnant women, and families with children under five years old in the province. The grant agreement was signed in Kigali on 19 August between the Swiss agency and the Ministry of Health.