Rwanda Human Resources For Health Program

In 2012, the Government of Rwanda committed to create the 'Human Resources for Health (HRH) Program' to build the health education infrastructure and workforce necessary to create a high quality, sustainable healthcare system in Rwanda. For a population of 10 million people, Rwanda currently has only 633 physicians and 6,970 Rwandan nurses, 90% of whom have the lowest level of nursing training available. Through the HRH Program, 13 United States institutions will send 100 faculty members to Rwanda annually to mentor Rwandese health professionals and teach students in medical, nursing, public health schools. In Year One of the HRH Program, funding is provided by the US government, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and ELMA Philanthropies. The participating Medical Schools in the Rwanda HRH Program are Harvard, Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, Duke, University of Virginia, and Columbia. The Nursing Schools are Duke, New York University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Maryland, and Howard. In addition, the Yale School of Public Health will take part in the program. By the end of the seven-year program, over 500 medical specialists will be trained, the education level of nearly 2,000 nurses and midwives will be upgraded, and Rwanda will be able to sustain a high quality health care system and health education infrastructure without foreign assistance.