Rwandans and Africans in general are set to benefit from an increase in well-trained health professionals from the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) that will, this year, graduate its first class in Rwanda.

In a teleconference on Wednesday, Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, the newly appointed vice chancellor of the University said that the internationally recognised university brings change in Rwanda, in Africa and the world not only in health but in other domains.

UGHE currently offers masters in Science in global health delivery in Kigali and at Rwinkwavu Hospital, Kirehe District.

It is an executive education and about 60 students are currently studying in two groups with one scheduled to graduate next month.

Binagwaho said that next year the university will open a medical school in Burera district to provide undergraduate education. Plans are also underway to open a campus close to Masaka Hospital in Kigali with the goal of transforming it into a teaching hospital.

Construction works in Burera are ongoing and the first phase will be completed next year in September.

"It will be a state-of-art facility with class rooms, teaching laboratories, a clinical simulation centre among others. It will have capacity to host over 1000 students,” Binageaho said.

The facility is estimated to cost over $150 million.

"We are a new institution of higher education for medical science, we are going to produce quality health professionals who will serve the population in Rwanda and in the region starting by East Africa,” she noted.

"The university will produce quality health professionals and quality health managers. We will contribute two-fold by increasing the number of professionals and quality managers that are produced,” Binagaho added.

UGHE, an initiative of Partners In Health (PIH), is a private institution leveraging expertise and resources from the Government of Rwanda, Harvard Medical School and other key partners.

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