Rwandan Mothers Receive Donor-Funded Baskets for Seeking Antenatal Care at Health Facilities

“I could not believe that there could be people of such good heart, who think about us even if they don’t know us. Please transmit to them my heartfelt recognition and love, and tell them that me and my daughter Providence are very grateful for the gesture they made!” said Vestine Niyibaho, Welcome Baby Basket recipient.  Ms. Niyibaho, a mother in Rwanda’s Nyagisozi sector, added that without the quick intervention of the nurses at her health facility, she would not have her healthy baby girl. 

US donors funded 219 Welcome Baby Baskets for families who sought antenatal services and delivered their babies in health facilities. At special ceremonies the IntraHealth-led Twubakane Decentralization and Health Program awarded the baskets, which cost $60 each and included buckets, umbrellas, feminine hygiene products, a set of baby clothes, flannel sheets and a new outfit for the mother. The baskets also included a t-shirt for the baby with the words “Navukiye kwa Muganga,” Kinyarwanda for “I was born in a health facility.” The first 14 baskets were distributed in January 2009; the rest were distributed in August 2009.

Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Richard Sezibera, presided over the ceremony in January in the Nyaruguru District. As he awarded the baskets, Minister Sezibera congratulated the selected mothers on having followed the advice of their health care providers. He also encouraged women to opt for family planning to improve their own health and the health of their children. 

“We have a very big challenge to reduce maternal and child mortality; we have to ensure that pregnancy is not a death hazard, but a chance to live for both the mother and the baby,” said Minister Sezibera.  “We cannot achieve this goal if we do not practice family planning.  Please go to your health facilities, talk to the providers and think about family planning.”

Much progress has been made in Rwanda over the past several years in reducing maternal and child mortality. In 2005, only 23% of births took place in a health facility; by 2007, 45% of births occurred in health facilities. Infant mortality dropped from 86 per 1,000 live births in 2005 to 62 per 1,000 by late 2007, and under-five child mortality fell during the same period from 152 per 1000 to 103 per 1000, according to Rwanda’s Demographic and Health Surveys.

Funded by USAID, the Twubakane Decentralization and Health Program supports family planning, safe motherhood and child survival in 12 Rwandan districts. The Program works with the Rwandan government to address these issues through health care provider training, health facility renovations, and equipment and community mobilization.  IntraHealth will continue the Welcome Baby Basket initiative in countries where maternal and infant mortality is high, and is accepting donations here.