Development of emergency medicine in Rwanda

Abstract

Rwanda, known as the “Land of a Thousand Hills,” is a small, East African country that was the site of the devastating 1994 genocide. In the past 18 years, this post-conflict country has made tremendous progress in rebuilding itself and its health infrastructure. The country has recovered or surpassed many of its pre-1994 health levels, including reduction in HIV/AIDS prevalence, under-five mortality and road traffic accidents. Nevertheless, Rwanda continues to face a high burden of disease. The leading causes of mortality in Rwanda include complications of HIV/AIDS and related opportunistic infections, severe malaria, pulmonary infections, and trauma, and are best managed with emergency and acute care services. However, health care personal resources remain significantly lacking, and there is currently no emergency medicine-trained workforce. The Rwandan government, partnering with international organizations, has launched a campaign to improve human resources for health, and as a part of that effort the creation of training programs in emergency medicine is now underway. The Rwandan Human Resources for Health program can serve as a guide to the development of similar programs within other African countries. The emergency medicine component of this program includes two tracks: a 2-year postgraduate diploma course, followed by a 3-year Masters of Medicine in Emergency Medicine. The program is slated to graduate its first cohort of trained Emergency Physicians in 2017.

Keywords

• Rwanda
• Africa
• Emergency
• Education
• Development