Fifty Rwandans with complex medical conditions that required macro-vascular reconstruction, scar revisions, resection of tumours and cleft palate corrective surgery this week underwent surgical procedures conducted by a team of doctors from the United States, Canada and Germany.

The surgeries were conducted at the Rwanda Military Hospital by a team of surgeons from some of the top and renowned health facilities in the world working under Face the Future Foundation.

The team of 12 worked closely with Rwandan doctors, surgeons and support staff.

The medical mission also served the purpose of capacity building to Rwandan doctors, surgeons and support staff with the aim of enabling locals to handle complex cases on their own in the near future.

Talking to The New Times yesterday, Dr Ife Sofola, the team leader of the visiting mission said this being their fifth medical mission in the country, they have seen progress in the capacity and abilities of local doctors in handling complex situations.

"It has been quite impressive to be honest considering the history of the country, within 22 years, we have seen a commitment by the government to build capacity of local doctors as well as a commitment to improve the lives of citizens,” Dr Sofola said.

He added that in the area of health care, it was impressive that the government had embarked on infrastructural developments as well as intellectual development with an aim of improving the quality of healthcare available in the country.

He reaffirmed the commitment and readiness of his team to continue working with Rwandan healthcare providers to treat complex cases as well as boost the capacity of medical personnel.

 Col Dr Charles Furaha, Plastic Surgeon at the Rwanda Military Hospital working with the visiting team of physicians, said over the previous years working with the visiting mission, Rwandan health care providers had improved their skills and capacity to handle more complex cases on their own.

He said going forward, local doctors were more capable of handling increasingly complex cases showing the strides made in Rwanda’s health care provision.

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