RWANDA: President Kagame opens new health varsity

A new university has opened in Rwanda’s Northern Province district of Burera.

The University of Global Health Equity’s (UGHE) sits on 100 hectares of land that was provided by the Rwandan government and was funded by Partners in Health, Cummings Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

While officiating at the opening ceremony, President Paul Kagame said the facility reflects commitment of Partners in Health and their counterparts in Rwanda.

“This new, cutting-edge university represents an additional investment in the human capital of Rwanda and our region,” he said.

Kagame commended Paul Farmers’ progressive efforts and the organisation’s work towards facilitating the country and the region to achieve equity in health.

“Paul Farmer and the Partners in Health team, together with Rwandan partners, have once again demonstrated that they follow through on their commitments, and get things done. Your efforts are raising the standard, globally, on equity in healthcare,” he said.

Partners in Health (PIH), known in Rwanda as Inshuti mu Buzima is a non-profit organisation, which has, for many years, been working to facilitate the country to achieve its health targets.

“Just as important, is our collaboration on scientific research to measure the impact of health interventions, and continually improve the care that our citizens receive,” Kagame noted.

Rwanda’s former Minister of Health, who is the University’s vice chancellor, revealed that that the new institution will see future doctors acquiring skills to tackle barriers to service delivery.

“Our next generation of doctors must understand the systems that drive social determinants of health, have the skills to strategically take initiative, and find solutions to barriers to service delivery,” said Agnes Binagwaho.

The university will offer masters and bachelor’s degrees and will offer scholarships for the master’s students ranging between US$49,000 and US$54,000. The university which has another campus in Kigali currently has students from Rwanda, USA, Canada, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nepal, Lesotho, Tanzania, and Uganda.

As at December 2018, there are 34 institutions of higher education in Rwanda, 11 public and 23 private. In 2013, the government of Rwanda merged all public universities, leading to one public university, University of Rwanda, with six colleges.