BUJUMBURA August 22nd (ABP) – The Minister of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS, Mrs. Sylvie Nzeyimana, in collaboration with the representation of Enabel, the delegation of the European Union in Burundi and the Embassy of Kingdom of Belgium, officially launched, on Thursday August 18, 2022, the 3rd phase of the health system support program through the performance-based financing tool “Amagara mu muryango”, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
In her opening speech, Ms. Nzeyimana indicated that this 3rd phase will be financed by the European Union to the tune of 100 billion FBu (i.e., 48.5 million euros) and parallel financing from the Kingdom of Belgium of an amount of 12 billion (i.e., 6.1 million euros). To that end, she added that this program aims to contribute to the establishment of universal health coverage by improving sustainable access to health services and the quality of care, particularly in the area of reproduction, maternal, neonatal, infant and adolescent.
The Minister pointed out that the implementation of the “Amagara mu muryango” program fits well with the orientations of the Ministry of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS and therefore contributes to the achievement of the objectives already set by the country in the national development plan. This program is part of the Burundi government’s national policy of free healthcare for pregnant women and children under 5, with the support of the European Union and the Kingdom of Belgium since 2016, said she pointed out.
Ms. Nzeyimana once again asked the Ambassadors of the European Union and the Kingdom of Belgium to continue the work already begun to seek innovative financing for the health sector in Burundi.
Speaking, the representative of Enabel in Burundi, Mr. Abou EL-Mahassine FASSI-FIHRI specified that each year, approximately 8 million consultations of children, 900,000 new consultations of pregnant women and 400,000 assisted births are supported free of charge in hospitals and health centers in Burundi.
Finally, he recalled that the Kingdom of Belgium through Enabel has been supporting the various pillars of the health system for ten years with support for the digitization of hospitals, the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure, health equipment, the national assisted maintenance strategy and the improvement of the health information system.