From the 6th-10th February 2024, Rwanda Nurses and Midwives Union (RNMU) had the pleasure of hosting the director of nursing and health politic (Mr Jarle) and the senior Advisors Ms Kristin & Ms Maren of the Norwegina Nurse Organizations (NNO.)
The purpose for the NNO delegates was for a partnership meeting which was mainly for sharing experiences as sister Nursing/Midwifery organizations who have been in partnership for 10 years with 2024 being the 11th year and going into a renewed partnership agreement.
The RNMU president Mr Andre Gitembagara welcomed Mr Jarle to Rwanda and RNMU and he shared an insight of RNMU’ back ground and its current status which is a member based Union as the only Union in Rwanda that is qualified to the state of a dual mandate, it has a moto or main aim of closing the gap meaning to have sufficient nurses who provide good services while enjoying quality life. The president in his presentation emphasized that the Union is committed to improving the image of the nursing and midwifery profession. Furthermore, the RNMU president talked about the Rwandan health structure with a comprehension of more than 45,0000 Community Health Workers, 1179 Health Posts, 461 Health Centers, 39 District Hospitals, 5 Provincial hospitals, 5 referral hospitals, 5 teaching hospitals and some private hospitals and clinics. The president also presented the nursing and midwifery background in Rwanda which noted that in March 1994, there were 983 nurses and after the genocide against Tutsi, around December 1994, there were only 347 nurses and currently, the National Council of Nurses and Midwives (NCNM) indicates that there are 15,200 registered nurses and midwives while those in practice are around 13,650 nurses/midwives and among those in practice, RNMU members are around 11,111
The meeting also left the Rwandan partners aware of the NNO’s great background and history NNO was founded in 1912 September 24th by Bergljot Larsson when she gathered 44 fellow nurses. NNO is Norway’s fourth largest trade union and it is part of the confederation of unions for professionals (Unio), it also has no formal bond to political parties. The NNO board is and of 12 elected members with 11 country offices and 230 employees, 30 elected fulltime representatives paid for by the NNO with 34 professional groups and 3200 representatives.
Mr Jarle also had the pleasure of visiting some important site in Rwanda including the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center where he paid tribute to those that lost lives in the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, the University of Rwanda College of nursing and midwifery, the Remera Rukoma hospital and Health center in order to have practical clue of the Rwanda health settings.
