The 1994 genocide resulted in the destruction of the existing medical system of hospitals, medical schools, and trained medical support personnel. Seventy-five percent of the medical community was either murdered or left the country. While a new generation of Rwandan physicians is actively involved in rebuilding their country’s medical infrastructure, the need for foreign resources is overwhelming.

After the conflict of 1994, Rwanda emerged as one of the poorest and most heavily indebted countries in the world, with a ranking of 161/177 in the Human Development Index. The current health care system faces many challenges, including chronic shortages of qualified physicians (280 for a country of 10 million), nurses and midwives as well as poor clinical and laboratory infrastructures, especially in rural areas. High rates of maternal and child illnesses, as well as the disease burden of HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, limit life expectancy to 52 years of age.

Our connection with Health Development Initiative -Rwanda (HDI) has made it possible for UJAMAA to develop a plan to teach, train, and support local physicians, medical students, and health care providers. This can be done both in the hospital and at rural clinics and villages. Focusing on Rwanda’s health care providers will promote our common vision of a more independent and sustainable healthcare system for Rwanda.

*HDI Health Development Initiative is an organization created by Rwandan physicians to improve the training of Rwandan physicians and nurses. It further seeks the development of outreach programs to educate people regarding health care issues.