Rwanda receives 100 medical ventilators from USA to fight against COVID-19

Rwanda has received 100 medical ventilators from the United States of America to fight against COVID-19, according to a news report by The New Times.

Donated through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the ventilators are one of the results of the conversation that President Paul Kagame had with his US counterpart Donald Trump earlier this year.

The equipment comes in to support Rwanda's preparation to deal with critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Since the country registered the first case of the pandemic on its soil in March, only about four patients have required breathing support, but according to the Ministry of Health, upgrading the readiness for critical cases is important.

Prior to receiving the 100 ventilators from the US, Rwanda already had 86 ventilators in place, and so, the donation takes the total number to 186.

Branded "Zoll Portable Critical Care Ventilators," they are - according to a statement from the US embassy-a leading-edge and in-demand technology for assisting Covid-19 patients to breathe; and "give Rwanda a powerful to treat critically ill patients affected by the virus and can be operated invasively or non-invasively."

According to Peter Vrooman, the US ambassador to Rwanda, the ventilators are valued at over Rwf1 billion and will be accompanied by training to assist local doctors and nurses deploy them effectively should critically ill patients require them.

"The USAID will work closely with Minister Ngamije, the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) officials here in Kigali and medical professionals in the provinces to ensure the ventilators are quickly distributed to medical facilities throughout Rwanda," said Vrooman.

He said, "We are also working together to ensure medical personnel receives the necessary technical training to safely operate and maintain the devices."

Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the Minister of Health, said that the donated ventilators will be installed in 10 government hospitals and 4 covid19 treatment centers across the country,

"The government of Rwanda will ensure that the remaining accessories and facilitation are procured and availed to the site as soon as possible," he said.