- Co-founded and developed a health centre serving 13,000 people in a remote area of Rwanda
- A maternity unit and health education network is saving local lives
Ntarama is in a swampy, malarial area south of Kigali. Many Tutsi were deported there by the majority Hutu Government before the genocide, hoping they would die of disease. An inhospitable and marginalised area without any health provision, it became one of the areas of greatest resistance during the 1994 genocide. In 2009, following consultation with the local community, our Rwandan project partners (SURF and AVEGA) opened a walk-in health centre with a doctor, four nurses, a laboratory, a pharmacy, family planning services and facilities for minor surgery. In 2011 a fully operational hospital was opened, offering maternity beds, a labour ward and delivery suite, and 18 regular hospital beds. The hospital has HIV clinics and dispenses anti-retroviral drugs. It also has a network of outreach workers making home visits and teaching about health and hygiene. Ntarama Hospital was formally recognised by the Ministry of Health and now sees more than 13,000 people a year. Local rates of maternal mortality and malaria have both fallen dramatically as a consequence.