On the issue of reproductive and child health programmes, Rugunda emphasised developed cost effective ways towards promoting maternal, infant and child health care as well as the need for mothers to deliver babies in hygienic conditions under the supervision of skilled health professionals to prevent unnecessary loss of lives. He gave examples of countries such as Cuba and parts of the Caribbean whose indices were among the best in the world using simple and cost effective measures. He highlighted the importance of political senitisation in health matters and used Uganda as an example of a country that has reduced HIV/AIDS through simple and cost effective ways. Rugunda declared that of interest to him was the issue of peace and security which related directly to his current appointment at UN Security Council. He stated that conflicts in Africa were a major cause for concern and that out of the 120 000 UN peacekeeping forces globally at least 50 000 were engaged in missions in Africa alone. He estimated the cost of the peacekeeping forces to be 8 billion US dollars per annum. He highlighted that: "Africa must take charge of their own peace and security issues. It is the responsibility of African governments to look after their own people." "A government that cannot provide security for its people must relinquish power to those who can best run the country. We need leaders who can prevent upheavals, conflicts and wars!" he reiterated.
He also affirmed that Africa must find its own solutions and therefore coming to ask UN for peacekeeping forces should be the ultimate resort. He was of the opinion that it was an extreme embarrassment particularly that in most cases violence in country contexts came about due to bad governance. He emphasised the importance of communication within the elders within the community, consultations with various stakeholders and communication with neighbouring countries as a form of intervention towards peace. He spoke about the value of belonging to regional organisations such as SADC, AU, COMESA etc. as these provided numeral opportunities for economic empowerment, peaceful resolutions to conflict and other countless benefits to the African people. Over the years, UN peacekeeping has evolved to meet the demands of different conflicts and a changing political landscape. Initially, UN peacekeeping goals were primarily limited to maintaining ceasefires and stabilising situations on the ground, so that efforts could be made at the political level to resolve the conflict by peaceful means. Currently there are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of five veto-wielding permanent members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States) and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms. This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter. Security Council members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time and respond promptly to disasters.
