New Journal: Rwanda Medical Journal

We are pleased to introduce our latest journal to the Bioline family--the Rwanda Medical Journal! RMJ was added to Bioline in May and is being published by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. It features articles on health care in Rwanda, and aims to cultivate discussion on health issues between health care professionals and academics alike. Abstracts are available in both English and French.

Issues 1, 2, 3 & 4 of vol.69 of the journal went up on Bioline last week. Here are some of the highlights from the Editorials of each of the issues:

Issue 1's editorial by Léon Mutesa discusses the Rwanda Medical Centre's (RMC) inception in 2011 and its current progress. Mutesa also discusses the RMC mission statement to become a leader in clinical research studies, particularly in HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases, and make an significant impact on Rwandan health policies. Details of the structure and functions of the RMC's department are also outlined by Mutesa.
Check out some of the other articles from this issue pertaining to topics such as periodontal pathogens and oral health care habits here: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rw&year=2012&vol=69&num=01&keys=V69N1

Agnes Binagwaho, in the editorial for issue 2, talks about the progress that the Rwandan health sector has made in producing strategies and policies for patients and health care practitioners alike--resulting in a positive impact on the overall health of the population, especially in the area of infectious diseases. Statistics have shown that there has been a decrease by 78% over ten years (between 2001-2010) of HIV mortality rates, and the life expectancy in Rwanda jumped from 30 in 1995 to 55 in 2010. Binagwaho details the results of examining the health sector after the Rwanda president's push of the Ministry of Health for more health care professionals in the country.
You can find all of the articles of vol.69 no.2 here: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rw&year=2012&vol=69&num=02&keys=V69N2

A number of articles on studies done at the King Faisal hospital in Kigali, the largest city in Rwanda. The first, "Cervical Squamous Intraepitherial lesions at King Faisal Hospital: A Systematic Review: April 2009 - April 2011" by Shiramba et al. is a reflection on the 1673 studies done of cervical pap smears from April 2009 to April 2011 and the findings of pre-cancerous cells.
The second, "Effusion Cytology at King Faisal Hospital, Kigali: A Review of 151 Cases" by Shiramba et al. details 151 effusions using cytologic examination. Effusions are a large amount of fluid in a cavity or space in the body. The results showed that 17% of effusions were malignant, or severe.
The complete findings of these articles and more articles from this issue can be found here: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rw&year=2012&vol=69&num=03&keys=V69N3

Lastly, issue 4 includes an editorial by Frank Verbeke on the role that ICT (Information and Communications Technology) has played in the improvement of health care in Rwanda. Although education in ICT in the area has proved to be difficult with a limited number of health care professionals trained in the area, programs such as Belgian's Migration and Development for Africa Great Lakes provide support and training, as seen during their March 13th 2013 conference at Kigali Health Institute. Here they presented huge strides in the role of ICT, mentioning that 300 health professionals were educated on using health software applications at the Kigali University Teaching Hospital.
For articles from issue 4 and more on ICT and health care, go to: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rw&year=2012&vol=69&num=04&keys=V69N4