Inshuti Mu Buzima / Rwanda

The situation in Rwanda

The tiny nation of Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa, with a population of more than 10 million in an area smaller than the state of Maryland. Rwanda is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 166 out of 187 countries listed in the U.N. Development Program's Human Development Index.

Beginning in April 1994, a tragic genocide took the lives of close to a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in just 100 days. The genocide destroyed Rwanda's already fragile economy, further impoverishing the population, and resulted in a massive loss of health professionals and the collapse of health infrastructure. The skyrocketing AIDS epidemic in Rwanda today is, in large part, a consequence of the violence, instability, and displacement that occurred as a result of the genocide. Estimates vary, but it is believed that between 8 and 13 percent of the population is infected with HIV. Many of those infected during the 1994 genocide—especially women who were the victims of rape—are now suffering from full-blown AIDS.

PIH's work in Rwanda

Since being invited in 2005 by the Rwandan government to work in underserved areas of the country, PIH has brought quality health care to 800,000 people in three rural and impoverished districts. Together with our Rwandan sister organization, Inshuti Mu Buzima (Kinyarwanda for Partners In Health), PIH now works at three district hospitals and 37 health centers. Facilities supported by PIH and Inshuti Mu Buzima (IMB):

   Burera District:

• 150-bed Butaro Hospital
• 15 health centers

   Southern Kayonza District: 

• 110-bed Rwinkwavu Hospital
• 8 health centers

   Kirehe District: 

• 120-bed Kirehe Hospital
• 14 health centers

Building off of PIH’s approach in Haiti, the Rwanda project was designed as a comprehensive primary health care model within the public sector. The approach uses HIV/AIDS prevention and care as the entry point to build capacity to address the major health problems faced by the local population. Haitian physicians, nurses, and managers traveled to Rwanda extensively in the early years of the program to provide training and program design assistance. These projects are run in partnership with the Government of Rwanda and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

Butaro Hospital's neonatal special care nursery brings live-saving technology and services to the region.

In 2009, PIH/IMB received funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to strengthen health systems in two eastern districts, Southern Kayonza and Kirehe, which serve a population of 460,000 people. Partnering with the Rwandan Ministry of Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital, this project includes interventions aimed at making significant improvements to the World Health Organizations's six health systems building blocks. The partnership will also support research and monitoring and evaluation of PIH's approach to rural health, and help inform the Government of Rwanda's ambitious plan to replicate the approach nationally. 

In the northern Burera District, the state-of-the-art Butaro Hospital was inaugurated in January 2011. This facility brings high‐quality medical care to a district that did not have a functional hospital, and serves as a flagship center for medical education and innovation for the entire east Africa region.

See a timeline of PIH's work in Rwanda.

Learn more about PIH/IMB initiatives.