Opening 3 New Health Posts
On May 30, 2023, Health Builders officially opened three new health posts in Rulindo District to make health care more accessible to rural community members.
Strengthening primary health care in rural Rwanda starts with increasing access to physical facilities where care is provided. To address the inadequate number of local health facilities in rural Rwanda, Health Builders is helping with Rwanda’s goal of constructing 1,600 health posts by 2050.
Health posts are smaller than health centers, but they still address critical health concerns such as malnutrition, maternal mortality, child mortality, and management of communicable and non-communicable diseases. By bringing more health posts into rural communities, we are making these services more accessible while also reducing the workload at health centers and district hospitals.
As with any Health Builders infrastructure project, the physical building is only one piece of a larger picture that includes mentorship and training of health centers’ staff and Community Health Workers (CHWs) and operational support to ensure quality standards.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and their architect partner Active Social Architecture Design Ltd, Health Builders has developed a comprehensive approach for building and supporting health posts:
Innovative design of three different sizes of health posts (Small, Medium, and Large)
Construction of the health posts
Acquisition of medical equipment with a biomedical technician for installation, user training, and maintenance
Repair and maintenance of the health posts
Ongoing management and clinical support
End-to-end evaluation to assess the feasibility, viability, and impact of each
Thanks to funding provided by Pace Family Foundation, T&J Meyer Family Foundation, Gould Family Foundation, and Rulindo District, three new health posts (one of each size: Small, Medium, and Large) have been built in Rulindo, a rural district in the Northern Province of Rwanda.
All three health posts were authorized to receive clients enrolled in Community-Based Health Insurance and started operating in February 2023.
From February – June 2023, these new health posts received a total of 4,352 patients, including 724 children under five years old.
The three new health posts were officially opened on May 30, 2023. Rulindo District Authorities and its supporters, including Al Pace and Kristin Morch of Pace Family Foundation, joined Health Builders in a ceremony that took place at the large health post in Nkanga Cell.
At the event, the Vice Mayor of Social Affairs in Rulindo District expressed his gratitude to Health Builders and its supporters for their generous contribution to this important project. He went on to say the health posts were dearly needed and would make an incredible difference for Rulindo community members.
To join in the celebration, local community members and CHWs expressed their joy through traditional dances and sketches. Their enthusiasm was contagious, infusing the event with a sense of hope for a future where everyone in Rulindo District has access to reliable, quality health care.
