Rwanda -- Health
Health
services are provided by the government-assisted
National Welfare Fund and by religious
missions. Rwanda's health infrastructure
is slowly being rebuilt after severe
challenges during the recent crises.
Thirty-four hospitals are now operating,
together with at least 200 health
centers and 70 dispensaries. The
last decade has seen a high turnover
in trained personnel; nearly 60%
of current personnel was forced
to flee in 1994.
Rwanda's
principal health problems are kwashiorkor,
infectious hepatitis, dysentery,
malaria, and tuberculosis. Only
50% of the population has access
to safe drinking water. Recently,
the spread of AIDS has become a
further health problem. Trauma has
been a major health issue in Rwanda
during the last decade. The Ministry
of Health published a statement
that psychiatric illnesses had increased
by 1,000% since the genocide. Aid
agencies are struggling to respond
to the crisis. UNICEF has trained
teachers and health workers to work
with over 70,000 children; other
agencies operate smaller programs.
Source:
Taylor, C.C. 1995. Rwandans. In
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures
and Daily Life.
Resources researched
by
Abdelaziz Marhoum, & David A. Samper
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