Małgorzata, Rwanda
For 4 months I had the pleasure to be a part of the medical staff at Nemba District Hospital, in Rwanda’s Northern Province. As a General Practitioner I was working in the Service of Internal Medicine and fighting with Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). What are NCDs patients struggling with in Rwanda? First, accessibility to a NCDs Clinics located in a district hospital or in a health centre, is not always easy as they might be located far from their residence. When suffering from asthma, patients might temporarily deal with lack of access to medications. For a long time sprays for asthmatic patients were not available in the country which puts their life in extreme danger! Hypertension - it is difficult to achieve a compliance with patients, since HT doesn’t cause any pain. The discontinuation of treatment leads to a risk of stroke which means being paralysed and thus, being dependent on family’s care. Diabetes - easily manageable in Europe with medical support, in Rwanda it's a DEAD SENTENCE. There's no access to the resources needed to treat disease.1$ to just measure glycaemia once per day? Crazy! A patient told me once: “I would rather have HIV instead of diabetes" Shocking worlds, but after analyzing the situation - it is understandable. Rwandans HIV-infected patients have a lifespan comparable to Europeans. Medications are refunded by the government. Whereas with diabetes, people are left behind. LET'S CHANGE IT!