DRC’s Problems are its Drunken Soldiers, then Cattle and Food in Rwanda

[mchambawima1]

On December 11, 2013, around 9:00am, seven heavily armed soldiers in Congolese military fatigue crossed into Rwanda's border area about 20km up north from the main border posts between the two countries.

Habumugisha Jean de Dieu and the colleague Kandinda were looking for wood in a nearby bush.The Congolese soldiers put them at gunpoint and demanded for cows. The demand was made in Kiswahili.

The two Rwandan men had no cows and offered no alternative to their tormentors.Habumugisha says they were kicked to the ground, sacked in the pockets. The soldiers took off with just Rwf 9,000 ($13).

The attack on the two men set a routine that has been the norm in the area since then.Around 11:00am, on April 11, 2014, one farmer, Seti Byumvuhore was grazing 12 cows in Kanyesheja village that shares both sides of the boarder.

While grazing, soldiers showed up and arrested Byumvuhore and released later that evening and walked home empty handed.His cows he had worked all his adult life to acquire had been taken.

A month later, May 15, at another nearby location, Congolese soldiers crossed over and took Mvuyekure Mathieu's four cows.But Mvuyekure was lucky. The cows were returned after paying Rwf 40,000 ($58) as ransom.Congolese soldiers have repeatedly crossed into Rwanda, which Rwanda considers a "deliberate provocation". But DR Congo says those are "accidents".

This border area is volatile and porous and caused repeated clashes between the armies of the two countries.In Rwanda, the area is Busasamana sector of Rubavu district in the Western Province.

On the DR Congo side, it is Buhumba groupement – a large expanse, covering tens of kilometers.Ever since the first incursion by the Congolese in December 2013, at least 120 cows, and similar number of goats and sheep, were taken at gunpoint or stolen at night.

Local officials on the Rwandan side say more than 100 families have lost hundreds of animals, crops from their farms or money extorted from them by Congolese soldiers.

In many of the cases, the affected residents cross over to the Congo side to negotiate directly with the soldiers, often ending in cash payments before the animals are released.This is for those who are lucky to find animals not slaughtered for meat or sold.By April 2014, victims of this criminal activity had reported to have spent a total of Rwf 814 000 ($1,150) to recover their cows. From the 120 cows taken during that period, sixteen were never recovered.

Residents gather, in June 2014, after unknown gunmen crossed into Rwanda from DRC and attacked Cyamabuye village located at Rusura cell, Busasamana Sector in Rubavu District.

Why the repeated incursions

Before the M23 rebels were defeated late in 2013, they had occupied the Buhumba region along with vast areas in eastern DR Congo.The Congolese military has heavily deployed in this dry hilly area that is currently inhabited.

There are also hundreds of foreign troops, backed by constant surveillance by UN drones and aircraft.However, sources told KTPress that Congolese soldiers are rarely paid, and rations do not come that often.

Rwandan residents of Busasamana sector, a lush green village with big plots of fertile farmland, sprawling with maize, climbing beans, potatoes and bananas, own cows, goats and sheep, are an ideal prey for the desperate soldiers.

Since July 2013, at least 20 stray Congolese soldiers have been arrested and then handed back to their government by Rwanda.On January 19, 2014, Sergent Kabongo Muture was picked by Rwandan residents in Kivumu sector along the boarder.

He got drunk and fell on ground on the street with a fully loaded gun in hand.He was picked and ten days later, Rwandan military officials handed him to the regional body charged with handling border disputes, the Extended Joint Mechanism of Verificafication (EJMV).

He was the ninth stray soldier found on the Rwandan soil. He told the verification delegation that he was looking for food and drinking water, and had no idea he had already crossed into Rwanda.

All the soldiers cross into Rwanda without army boots.The Congolese government has defended its men saying it is normal for anybody to "stray" across borders, but no explanation for their miserable life.

It is not only in Rubavu district bordering Congo's North Kivu province where FARDC have found themselves inside Rwanda.In early March, 2014, Corporal Ntungumuhigo Zakayo appeared in Gashonga sector in south west Rwanda, which neighbours Bukavu – Dr Congo's border area, and capital of the South Kivu province.

Corporal Ntungumuhigo informed the EJMV he was fed up with military service and wanted to desert.The most recent case again was on May 23, 2014. Corporal Bosongo Boyoma had been drinking at a trading center near Kibumba at the boarder, but failed to locate the position of his unit even when it was daytime.

He narrated to the regional monitors, who include his commanders that he was going to meet his wife in Birere, suburb of Goma town.In a surprise plea, Corporal Boyoma went down on his knees asking not be sent back to DR Congo, fearing repercussion from his superiors.

He was handed back after the border monitoring team obtained assurances from Kinshasa that the soldier would not be severely punished. Corporal Bosongo went home two weeks later.

On February 10, 2015, Rwanda defense minister, Gen. James Kabarebe, told the parliamentary committee, that most of the stray soldiers are usually "hungry…drunk and end up losing their way" into Rwanda.

Despite years of claims by Dr Congo that Rwandan soldiers have also crossed into its territory, no Rwandan soldier has been arrested and presented before the EJMV.

Rwanda says ‘enough is enough'
The climax of repeated FARDC incursions into Rwanda was on the morning of June 11, 2014.At 5:25am, fighting erupted as a Rwandan army unit ambushed about 30 Congolese soldiers who had crossed into Cyamabuye village of Rusura cell in Busasamana sector along the Goma boarder.

Five Congolese soldiers were killed. No casualties were reported on the Rwanda side. But Rwanda foreign affairs minister Louise Mushikiwabo was furious."We urge the leadership of the DR Congo to embrace the logic of peace and end all attacks on the Rwandan territory," she said, in a statement later the same day."These actions by DR Congo are jeopardising the region's extensive efforts to ensure peace, stability and development for all our citizens.

"The area where the clashes occurred has two hills; Kanyesheja I and II. Congo's information minister and government spokesman, Lambert Mende, was quoted saying that Rwandan soldiers attacked these hills which he claimed belong to DR Congo, then kidnapped a solder and executed him along with four others.

Yet, the previous day, June 10, residents in that area had paid Rwf152,000 ($230) to Congolese soldiers to get back their six cows.Rwanda says when the 30 Congolese soldiers crossed again that morning, they may have come back to take more cows, expecting extra extortions from Rwandan farmers.

The incidents sparked off a bitter exchange between the two countries.This happened at a backdrop of an unsolved case where, in August, DR Congo launched provocative military offensives against Rwanda.

Several mortars had been fired into Rwanda, one of which landed near a market, killing a mother instantly. Her five-month old baby she was carrying on the back survived.The regional monitoring team, investigated the case and has never officially released the findings.


Source: KT Press

 

[JokaKuu]

JWTZ YAPELEKA KILIO RWANDA


*Yakamata maofisa wake wanne wa Kijeshi
*M-23 wakiri majeshi ya UN ni hatari yatawamaliza
ASKARI wa Umoja wa Mataifa wanaolinda amani nchini Kongo (Monusco), wakiongozwa na vikosi vya Jeshi la Wananchi Tanzania (JWTZ), wamedai kuwakamata maofisa wanne wa jeshi la Rwanda, katika mapigano ya wiki iliyopita nchini Kongo.

Akizungumza na MTANZANIA Jumatano kwa sharti la kutotajwa jina, mmoja wa askari aliyepo ndani ya kikosi cha JWTZ huko nchini Kongo, alisema maofisa hao wanashikiliwa kwa mahojiano zaidi.
Taarifa hizi za sasa zinakuja wakati ambapo kumekuwa na madai ya muda mrefu, ambayo yamekuwa yakitolewa na Umoja wa Mataifa pamoja na Marekani kwamba, Rwanda imekuwa ikiwasaidia waasi wa kundi la M-23.

Pamoja na kwamba Rwanda imekuwa ikipinga madai hayo, kitendo chake cha wiki iliyopita cha kuamua kupeleka bataliani mbili zenye wanajeshi 1,700 ili kukabiliana na kile kinachodaiwa kuwa ni kishindo cha vikosi vya Umoja wa Mataifa vyenye jukumu la kulinda amani katika taifa hilo lenye utajiri mkubwa kirasilimali, kinatokana na waasi wa M23 kupata kipigo kikali.

Chanzo chetu hicho kutoka uwanja wa mapambano nchini Kongo, kililidokeza gazeti hili kuwa maofisa hao wa Jeshi la Rwanda waliwakamata katika mapigano hayo yaliyodumu kwa zaidi ya wiki moja, ambayo tayari yamewakimbiza waasi wa M23.

“Askari wa Rwanda tuliowakamata, ni maofisa wa ngazi za juu kabisa jeshini, tena walikuwa na sare za jeshi hilo… walikuwa wakiwasaidia hao M23, lakini kwa kuwa sisi tulikuwa makini tulifanikiwa kuwatandika hadi tukawakamata,” kilisema chanzo chetu hicho.
Habari za uhakika kutoka vyanzo vya habari vya kuaminika zinaeleza kwamba, hatua hiyo ya kuwakamata maofisa hao pamoja na kuondoka kwa waasi wa kikundi cha M23, imefanikisha kushinda vita hiyo kwa zaidi ya asilimia 95.
Mtoa taarifa wetu huyo kutoka Kongo, ameliambia gazeti hili kuwa, tayari Monusco wanaoongozwa na JWTZ wameanza kufurahia ushindi huo na kwamba sasa hivi wanasubiri tamko kutoka kwa wakuu wao, ili kufahamu kinachofuata baada ya kufanikisha hatua hiyo.

cc mchambawima1, jMali

 

[JokaKuu]

Rwandan arms, fighters still sustaining M23 rebel forces in Congo

The Rwandan military continues to provide weapons, fighters and other material support to the Congolese rebel group M23, which has stepped up its attacks on Congolese forces and civilians in the last few months, carrying out dozens of summary executions and rapes, a Human Rights Watch investigation has found.
The rebels have executed at least 44 people and raped at least 61 women in Congo (also known as the Democratic Republic of Congo or Congo-Kinshasa) since March, the international group has found. Its findings are based on more than 100 interviews with former M23 fighters and civilians living near the Rwandan border in eastern Congo where most of the recent fighting in the protracted war between the Congolese army and rebel factions has taken place.
In its interviews with M23 deserters, Human Rights Watch learned that the rebel group has been recruiting demobilized soldiers and civilians, including children, in Rwanda and training them to fight for its forces in Congo.
Rwandan army officers have also been seen at M23 bases, "leading training for new recruits and recruiting for the M23 in Rwanda," the group's report said.

Rwandan military 'directly supporting' rebels

M23 deserters reported seeing not just fighters being brought from Rwanda but also deliveries of weapons, ammunition, food, phone credit and other supplies.
"Not only is Rwanda allowing its territory to be used by the abusive M23 to get recruits and equipment, but the Rwandan military is still directly supporting the M23," said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "This support is sustaining an armed group responsible for numerous killings, rapes and other serious abuses."
Human Rights Watch said recruitment of Rwandans has increased in recent months as M23 struggles to build up its forces after an internal split between rival factions that occurred in March. Several of the former recruits, some as young as 15, told the rights group that they were forcibly recruited or tricked into travelling to Congo with promises of jobs.
Congolese civilians accused by M23 of collaborating with Hutu militia groups have also been the target of forcible recruitment tactics, Human Rights Watch said.

Rape could be underreported

Women accused of being the wives of fighters for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu armed group responsible for some of the killing and abuses carried out during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, are often the target of rape, the report said .
Although the group documented 61 cases of rape between March and mid-July, it said the social stigma around rape and the threat of reprisals against victims means the crime could be underreported.
"Most of the rapes occurred close to M23 positions, and some victims recognized the attackers as M23 fighters they had seen before," the report said. "The rapists frequently told their victims that they would be killed if they spoke about the rape or sought medical treatment."

More than 5 million dead

The Congolese army has been fighting various Rwandan-backed rebel factions for at least 15 years in a brutal war over the country's vast mineral resources that has claimed the lives of more than five million people so far and displaced hundreds of thousands of Congolese civilians.
M23 has emerged as the dominant rebel force in the past year, forming out of another Rwandan-backed group called the National Congress for the Defence of the People. With the backing of the Rwandan military, M23 has gained control of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories in North Kivu province in the east part of the county and in November 2012 briefly seized the key city of Goma on the Congo-Rwandan border, which has been the epicentre of the fighting that first erupted in 1998.
The M23 fighters retreated from Goma after the Congolese army agreed to pursue peace talks. A peace agreement endorsed by 11 African countries, including Rwanda and Congo, was signed in February but broke down when fighting erupted north of Goma in May and then again in July, Human Rights Watch said.
The group also uncovered killings, rapes and other abuses committed by the Congolese military and militia groups made up of ethnic Hutus and allied with the FDLR. Human Rights Watch alleges that Congolese army officers have supported the activities of the Hutu militias and that soldiers and officers have mistreated captured rebel fighters and civilians who support them.
MK254, mchambawima1, nyumba kubwa

 

[mchambawima1]

I am sorry JokaKuu, point number three inaharibu habari yote!!! kama kweli walisaidiwa na Rwanda basi mambo ya kihuni kama ubakaji na ujinga mwingineo sahau kabisa, remember when talk about Rwanda, discipline comes first in somebody's mind!

 

[JokaKuu]

I am sorry JokaKuu, point number three inaharibu habari yote!!! kama kweli walisaidiwa na Rwanda basi mambo ya kihuni kama ubakaji na ujinga mwingineo sahau kabisa, remember when talk about Rwanda, discipline comes first in somebody's mind!

..kama mmeweza genocide mtashindwa ubakaji?

..discipline ya askari wa Rwanda inakwenda hand in hand na unyama na ukatili wa kutisha.

cc jMali, Jasusi

 

[mchambawima1]

kama kawaida yako!!! naona pombe zishaanza kukukolea

 

[jMali]

I am sorry JokaKuu, point number three inaharibu habari yote!!! kama kweli walisaidiwa na Rwanda basi mambo ya kihuni kama ubakaji na ujinga mwingineo sahau kabisa, remember when talk about Rwanda, discipline comes first in somebody's mind!

huyu Gen. JAMES KABAREBE alishiriki kikamilifu kutengeneza FARDC, wakati huo akiwa mkuu wa majeshi hayo hayo ya FARDC, akijulikana kama "mkongomani mwenye asili ya kitutsi". Hivyo shortcomings zote za FARDC ni matokeo ya wanafunzi wake. Leo ni waziri wa ulinzi wa Rwanda, na anajulikana kama "mnyarwanda pure" ndio anajifanya kuona mapungufu ya FARDC? huo ni unafiki.
cc: JokaKuu

 

[mng'ato]

JWTZ YAPELEKA KILIO RWANDA


*Yakamata maofisa wake wanne wa Kijeshi
*M-23 wakiri majeshi ya UN ni hatari yatawamaliza
ASKARI wa Umoja wa Mataifa wanaolinda amani nchini Kongo (Monusco), wakiongozwa na vikosi vya Jeshi la Wananchi Tanzania (JWTZ), wamedai kuwakamata maofisa wanne wa jeshi la Rwanda, katika mapigano ya wiki iliyopita nchini Kongo.

Akizungumza na MTANZANIA Jumatano kwa sharti la kutotajwa jina, mmoja wa askari aliyepo ndani ya kikosi cha JWTZ huko nchini Kongo, alisema maofisa hao wanashikiliwa kwa mahojiano zaidi.
Taarifa hizi za sasa zinakuja wakati ambapo kumekuwa na madai ya muda mrefu, ambayo yamekuwa yakitolewa na Umoja wa Mataifa pamoja na Marekani kwamba, Rwanda imekuwa ikiwasaidia waasi wa kundi la M-23.

Pamoja na kwamba Rwanda imekuwa ikipinga madai hayo, kitendo chake cha wiki iliyopita cha kuamua kupeleka bataliani mbili zenye wanajeshi 1,700 ili kukabiliana na kile kinachodaiwa kuwa ni kishindo cha vikosi vya Umoja wa Mataifa vyenye jukumu la kulinda amani katika taifa hilo lenye utajiri mkubwa kirasilimali, kinatokana na waasi wa M23 kupata kipigo kikali.

Chanzo chetu hicho kutoka uwanja wa mapambano nchini Kongo, kililidokeza gazeti hili kuwa maofisa hao wa Jeshi la Rwanda waliwakamata katika mapigano hayo yaliyodumu kwa zaidi ya wiki moja, ambayo tayari yamewakimbiza waasi wa M23.

“Askari wa Rwanda tuliowakamata, ni maofisa wa ngazi za juu kabisa jeshini, tena walikuwa na sare za jeshi hilo… walikuwa wakiwasaidia hao M23, lakini kwa kuwa sisi tulikuwa makini tulifanikiwa kuwatandika hadi tukawakamata,” kilisema chanzo chetu hicho.
Habari za uhakika kutoka vyanzo vya habari vya kuaminika zinaeleza kwamba, hatua hiyo ya kuwakamata maofisa hao pamoja na kuondoka kwa waasi wa kikundi cha M23, imefanikisha kushinda vita hiyo kwa zaidi ya asilimia 95.
Mtoa taarifa wetu huyo kutoka Kongo, ameliambia gazeti hili kuwa, tayari Monusco wanaoongozwa na JWTZ wameanza kufurahia ushindi huo na kwamba sasa hivi wanasubiri tamko kutoka kwa wakuu wao, ili kufahamu kinachofuata baada ya kufanikisha hatua hiyo.

cc mchambawima1, jMali

Rwandans wait at a hospital in Kigali. Researchers said that the device delivered test results displayed on the phone screen within 15 minutes and performed almost as well as the ELISA test.

US and Rwandan researchers said Wednesday they have developed a low-cost smartphone accessory that can detect HIV and syphilis from a finger prick of blood in just 15 minutes.

This is the first device that replicates all the functions of a lab-based blood test, and it works by detecting markers of the infectious diseases: HIV antibody, treponemal-specific antibody for syphilis, and non-treponemal antibody for active syphilis infection.

The manufacturing cost of the device is only US$34, much lower than the US$18,000 that current gold standard of diagnostics, known as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), needs.

The accessory was recently piloted by health care workers in Rwanda who used it to test blood finger-pricked from 96 patients, many of whom were women at risk for mother-to-child transmission of the sexually transmitted diseases. The health care workers were given only 30 minutes of training on the device.

The researchers said that the device delivered test results displayed on the phone screen within 15 minutes and performed almost as well as the ELISA test. Nearly all patients preferred it to lab-based tests, which could take up to two or more hours.

"Our work shows that a full laboratory-quality immunoassay can be run on a smartphone accessory," lead author Samuel Sia, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Columbia University.

"This kind of capability can transform how health care services are delivered around the world," Sia said. The device, or dongle, can easily connect to a smartphone or computer. It is small and light enough to fit into one hand and draws all the power it needs to run by plugging into a smartphone's audio jack.

Researchers believed that this lab-on-a-chip device could help scale up early detection of HIV and syphilis, especially in mobile or field clinics.

"Our dongle presents new capabilities for a broad range of users, from health care providers to consumers," Sia said.

"By increasing detection of syphilis infections, we might be able to reduce deaths by 10-fold. And ...we might be able to scale up HIV testing at the community level with immediate antiretroviral therapy that could nearly stop HIV transmissions and approach elimination of this devastating disease," he added.

The work, also comprising researchers from Rwanda Biomedical Centre, was published in the US journal Science Translational Medicine.

Source:theeastafrican

 

[nyumba kubwa]

Huyo Kabarebe ndio waziri wa ulinzi wa Rwanda? kama ndio jana nimemsikia anajibu maswali ya wabunge wao (ilikuwa VOA au BBC)...anaongelea jinsi serikali ya Congo inavyoharibu amani ya Rwanda kwa kuendelea kuwa accommodate rebels...

Nilitabasamu alipoongelea TZ positively kiaina...(maana nilikuwa nasubiri kwa hamu nione asemacho) akionyesha kama anajutia uhasama uliopo baina yetu...na kumalizia kuwa mpaka wa Tz na Rwanda huko salama ila ule wa Congo ndio si shwari....

Naona akili imeanza kuwarudia...:A S-baby:

huyu Gen. JAMES KABAREBE alishiriki kikamilifu kutengeneza FARDC, wakati huo akiwa mkuu wa majeshi hayo hayo ya FARDC, akijulikana kama "mkongomani mwenye asili ya kitutsi". Hivyo shortcomings zote za FARDC ni matokeo ya wanafunzi wake. Leo ni waziri wa ulinzi wa Rwanda, na anajulikana kama "mnyarwanda pure" ndio anajifanya kuona mapungufu ya FARDC? huo ni unafiki.
cc: JokaKuu

 

[mng'ato]

Huyo Kabarebe ndio waziri wa ulinzi wa Rwanda? kama ndio jana nimemsikia anajibu maswali ya wabunge wao (ilikuwa VOA au BBC)...anaongelea jinsi serikali ya Congo inavyoharibu amani ya Rwanda kwa kuendelea kuwa accommodate rebels...

Nilitabasamu alipoongelea TZ positively kiaina...(maana nilikuwa nasubiri kwa hamu nione asemacho) akionyesha kama anajutia uhasama uliopo baina yetu...na kumalizia kuwa mpaka wa Tz na Rwanda huko salama ila ule wa Congo ndio si shwari....

Naona akili imeanza kuwarudia...:A S-baby:

Rwandans wait at a hospital in Kigali. Researchers said that the device delivered test results displayed on the phone screen within 15 minutes and performed almost as well as the ELISA test.

US and Rwandan researchers said Wednesday they have developed a low-cost smartphone accessory that can detect HIV and syphilis from a finger prick of blood in just 15 minutes.

This is the first device that replicates all the functions of a lab-based blood test, and it works by detecting markers of the infectious diseases: HIV antibody, treponemal-specific antibody for syphilis, and non-treponemal antibody for active syphilis infection.

The manufacturing cost of the device is only US$34, much lower than the US$18,000 that current gold standard of diagnostics, known as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), needs.

The accessory was recently piloted by health care workers in Rwanda who used it to test blood finger-pricked from 96 patients, many of whom were women at risk for mother-to-child transmission of the sexually transmitted diseases. The health care workers were given only 30 minutes of training on the device.

The researchers said that the device delivered test results displayed on the phone screen within 15 minutes and performed almost as well as the ELISA test. Nearly all patients preferred it to lab-based tests, which could take up to two or more hours.

"Our work shows that a full laboratory-quality immunoassay can be run on a smartphone accessory," lead author Samuel Sia, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Columbia University.

"This kind of capability can transform how health care services are delivered around the world," Sia said. The device, or dongle, can easily connect to a smartphone or computer. It is small and light enough to fit into one hand and draws all the power it needs to run by plugging into a smartphone's audio jack.

Researchers believed that this lab-on-a-chip device could help scale up early detection of HIV and syphilis, especially in mobile or field clinics.

"Our dongle presents new capabilities for a broad range of users, from health care providers to consumers," Sia said.

"By increasing detection of syphilis infections, we might be able to reduce deaths by 10-fold. And ...we might be able to scale up HIV testing at the community level with immediate antiretroviral therapy that could nearly stop HIV transmissions and approach elimination of this devastating disease," he added.

The work, also comprising researchers from Rwanda Biomedical Centre, was published in the US journal Science Translational Medicine.

Source:theeastafrican

 

[nyumba kubwa]

And....????!!!!!

Rwandans wait at a hospital in Kigali. Researchers said that the device delivered test results displayed on the phone screen within 15 minutes and performed almost as well as the ELISA test.

US and Rwandan researchers said Wednesday they have developed a low-cost smartphone accessory that can detect HIV and syphilis from a finger prick of blood in just 15 minutes.

This is the first device that replicates all the functions of a lab-based blood test, and it works by detecting markers of the infectious diseases: HIV antibody, treponemal-specific antibody for syphilis, and non-treponemal antibody for active syphilis infection.

The manufacturing cost of the device is only US$34, much lower than the US$18,000 that current gold standard of diagnostics, known as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), needs.

The accessory was recently piloted by health care workers in Rwanda who used it to test blood finger-pricked from 96 patients, many of whom were women at risk for mother-to-child transmission of the sexually transmitted diseases. The health care workers were given only 30 minutes of training on the device.

The researchers said that the device delivered test results displayed on the phone screen within 15 minutes and performed almost as well as the ELISA test. Nearly all patients preferred it to lab-based tests, which could take up to two or more hours.

"Our work shows that a full laboratory-quality immunoassay can be run on a smartphone accessory," lead author Samuel Sia, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Columbia University.

"This kind of capability can transform how health care services are delivered around the world," Sia said. The device, or dongle, can easily connect to a smartphone or computer. It is small and light enough to fit into one hand and draws all the power it needs to run by plugging into a smartphone's audio jack.

Researchers believed that this lab-on-a-chip device could help scale up early detection of HIV and syphilis, especially in mobile or field clinics.

"Our dongle presents new capabilities for a broad range of users, from health care providers to consumers," Sia said.

"By increasing detection of syphilis infections, we might be able to reduce deaths by 10-fold. And ...we might be able to scale up HIV testing at the community level with immediate antiretroviral therapy that could nearly stop HIV transmissions and approach elimination of this devastating disease," he added.

The work, also comprising researchers from Rwanda Biomedical Centre, was published in the US journal Science Translational Medicine.

Source:theeastafrican

 

[mng'ato]

And....????!!!!!

Rwandans wait at a hospital in Kigali. Researchers said that the device delivered test results displayed on the phone screen within 15 minutes and performed almost as well as the ELISA test.

US and Rwandan researchers said Wednesday they have developed a low-cost smartphone accessory that can detect HIV and syphilis from a finger prick of blood in just 15 minutes.

This is the first device that replicates all the functions of a lab-based blood test, and it works by detecting markers of the infectious diseases: HIV antibody, treponemal-specific antibody for syphilis, and non-treponemal antibody for active syphilis infection.

The manufacturing cost of the device is only US$34, much lower than the US$18,000 that current gold standard of diagnostics, known as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), needs.

The accessory was recently piloted by health care workers in Rwanda who used it to test blood finger-pricked from 96 patients, many of whom were women at risk for mother-to-child transmission of the sexually transmitted diseases. The health care workers were given only 30 minutes of training on the device.

The researchers said that the device delivered test results displayed on the phone screen within 15 minutes and performed almost as well as the ELISA test. Nearly all patients preferred it to lab-based tests, which could take up to two or more hours.

"Our work shows that a full laboratory-quality immunoassay can be run on a smartphone accessory," lead author Samuel Sia, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Columbia University.

"This kind of capability can transform how health care services are delivered around the world," Sia said. The device, or dongle, can easily connect to a smartphone or computer. It is small and light enough to fit into one hand and draws all the power it needs to run by plugging into a smartphone's audio jack.

Researchers believed that this lab-on-a-chip device could help scale up early detection of HIV and syphilis, especially in mobile or field clinics.

"Our dongle presents new capabilities for a broad range of users, from health care providers to consumers," Sia said.

"By increasing detection of syphilis infections, we might be able to reduce deaths by 10-fold. And ...we might be able to scale up HIV testing at the community level with immediate antiretroviral therapy that could nearly stop HIV transmissions and approach elimination of this devastating disease," he added.

The work, also comprising researchers from Rwanda Biomedical Centre, was published in the US journal Science Translational Medicine.

Source:theeastafrican

 

[nyumba kubwa]

DRC wamesema hawako tayari kutimua ma general wake wawili...na hawataki tena msaada wa Monusco...(source: BBC Swahili jana jioni)....

Na hii si maamuzi ya Kabila peke yake...hata wapinzani wamehojiwa wamesema hawataki kuingiliwa na UN kwenye maamuzi...na wakionyesha kutoyahitaji majeshi ya UN anymore...

Hope wameshakuwa na capacity kulinda nchi yao...kwani hata mimi sioni kama ni vyema kusaidiwa kiulinzi na watu wengine ...ndio mwanzo wa kukaribisha watu na agenda zao za siri ambazo ziko nje na suala la amani ya kweli

 

[JustDoItNow]

I am sorry JokaKuu, point number three inaharibu habari yote!!! kama kweli walisaidiwa na Rwanda basi mambo ya kihuni kama ubakaji na ujinga mwingineo sahau kabisa, remember when talk about Rwanda, discipline comes first in somebody's mind!

Ahahahahhaha, mzee wa sumu, tema sumu tema sumu. Mbona unataka kulia?
Ni jukumu la Tanzania kuleta amani mpak huko Rwanda. We subiri uone. Sisi hatuna bla bla za misifa ya kijinga. Tunafanya kazi.
Sasa Tutamlazimisha kagame aongee mezani ha hao jamaa. Tulia hivyo hivyo mnyolewe. Msiogope

 

[JustDoItNow]

Huyo Kabarebe ndio waziri wa ulinzi wa Rwanda? kama ndio jana nimemsikia anajibu maswali ya wabunge wao (ilikuwa VOA au BBC)...anaongelea jinsi serikali ya Congo inavyoharibu amani ya Rwanda kwa kuendelea kuwa accommodate rebels...

Nilitabasamu alipoongelea TZ positively kiaina...(maana nilikuwa nasubiri kwa hamu nione asemacho) akionyesha kama anajutia uhasama uliopo baina yetu...na kumalizia kuwa mpaka wa Tz na Rwanda huko salama ila ule wa Congo ndio si shwari....

Naona akili imeanza kuwarudia...:A S-baby:

Mnafiki tu huyo. Anaongea ilikupunguza makali ya uadui. Maji yashamwagika........LOL

 

[Ngongo]

Hii move ni nzuri sana Rwanda itawabidi wakae meza ya mazungumzo na wapinzani bila kupenda.Tanzania imetoa mafunzo ya uhakika kwa majeshi ya Congo DRC sasa wana uwezo wa kulinda nchi yao wenyewe wale vibaraka wa kitutsi wameondolewa jeshini.

DRC wamesema hawako tayari kutimua ma general wake wawili...na hawataki tena msaada wa Monusco...(source: BBC Swahili jana jioni)....

Na hii si maamuzi ya Kabila peke yake...hata wapinzani wamehojiwa wamesema hawataki kuingiliwa na UN kwenye maamuzi...na wakionyesha kutoyahitaji majeshi ya UN anymore...

Hope wameshakuwa na capacity kulinda nchi yao...kwani hata mimi sioni kama ni vyema kusaidiwa kiulinzi na watu wengine ...ndio mwanzo wa kukaribisha watu na agenda zao za siri ambazo ziko nje na suala la amani ya kweli

 

[MOTOCHINI]

Huyo Kabarebe ndio waziri wa ulinzi wa Rwanda? kama ndio jana nimemsikia anajibu maswali ya wabunge wao (ilikuwa VOA au BBC)...anaongelea jinsi serikali ya Congo inavyoharibu amani ya Rwanda kwa kuendelea kuwa accommodate rebels...

Nilitabasamu alipoongelea TZ positively kiaina...(maana nilikuwa nasubiri kwa hamu nione asemacho) akionyesha kama anajutia uhasama uliopo baina yetu...na kumalizia kuwa mpaka wa Tz na Rwanda huko salama ila ule wa Congo ndio si shwari....

Naona akili imeanza kuwarudia...:A S-baby:

Ndugu unadhan rwanda hawaijui tanzania! wanatambua na mbwembwe zoote zilikua danganya toto lakini uwezo wa kujaribu hawana, pia lazima ujue mwanaume waukweli hajui manenomaneno kutukana yanini wewe ukikwazika usilembe unalianzisha, ukireta maneno jua wewe UNA SURA YA KIUME ASIRI YA KIKE