The Kingdom of Belgium, on September 24, 2020 handed over 40 ambulances to the Ministry of Health of Rwanda to boost access to health services.  

The forty ambulances worth around Rwf2 billion will be dispatched in district hospitals throughout the country and aim to strengthen the health system and reach Rwanda’s target of 1 ambulance per 40.000 inhabitants by 2024, for better service delivery.  

Speaking at the event, Ambassador of Belgium to Rwanda Benoit Ryelandt said that the donation of ambulances was planned as part of the current Belgo-Rwandan cooperation in the health sector.  

“The Health sector is one of the components of the current 5-year Belgo-Rwandan cooperation 2019-2024. The 40 ambulances were planned to be delivered throughout  the project but with COVID19 pandemic, it is even more useful to deliver all the ambulances now and at the same time to help contain the spread of the virus as well as other contagious diseases” said HE Benoit Ryelandt, Ambassador of Belgium in Rwanda.  

The Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel NGAMIJE said that the new ambulances will contribute to improve access to health care and service delivery to reduce deaths and reach the universal health coverage. He said: “The support of 40 ambulances to our health sector contributes to the attainment of the Government of the Rwanda National Strategy in the context of Epidemics response such as ebola virus desease and COVID19 pandemics to mention but a few.”  

The health sector is focusing on Maternal and Child Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health, including Family Planning, and Household access to health care. It covers 40% of the total envelope, i.e 45 million Euros.