A new heart facility is set to be built on a four-by-four hectare piece of land in Masaka in Kicukiro District, Kigali.
Works on the proposed centre, to be constructed by Heart Care Research Foundation Rwanda (HCRF-R), will get underway before the end of the year, according to officials.
An agreement paving the way for the works was signed in Kigali Friday, June 11, between the Health minister Dr Daniel Ngamije and the Egyptian envoy to Rwanda, Ahmed Samy Mohamed El-Ansary.
The project is backed by the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD).
Construction works for phase I of the project are expected to last 18 months after which equipment will be installed, said Gisele Gatariki, chairperson, HCRF-R.
The programme also includes training Rwandan medics and other personnel who will work at the facility.
Amb Ahmed Samy Mohamed El-Ansary, the Egyptian Ambassador to Rwanda signs the agreement in Kigali
The centre will include a research wing, clinics, operation theatres, radiology rooms, laboratories, pharmacies, accommodation, and an administration block.
HCRF-R will manage the heart centre.
"The cardiovascular centre will give all medical care to people with heart conditions, including surgeries, especially to the people who would ordinarily not afford it,” Gatariki told The New Times.
"We expect the centre to be fully operational in 2-3 years; it will start with a capacity of about 1,000 people,” she added.
However, Gatariki and other officials declined to reveal how much the project will cost, with the former only saying that funds will be raised in the form of grants from partners such as Chain of Hope, Magdi Yacoub foundation, Sawaris Foundation, and other philanthropy organizations.
Dr Evariste Ntaganda, the director of cardiovascular diseases at Rwanda Biomedical Centre, said the proposed facility will train more professional cardiologists, especially in the pediatric field, and help in emergencies and intensive care cases.
"For instance, more than 1000 children have congenital heart diseases and need surgery,” he said, adding that only a fraction of such children – around just 16 – are normally operated on by visiting medics on specific missions.
Dr Daniel Ngamije,Minister of Health signs the agreement in Kigali on June 11, 2021
He added, "Surgical operations are usually expensive but with the proposed heart centre more children and older people will have access to surgical services.”
Minister Ngamije said Rwanda’s vision is to become a medical tourist hub, and the proposed centre will help promote medical tourism.
"It will help increase the number of specialists in the country, not only in terms of treating but also in teaching and research,” he said.
Amb. El-Ansary said Egypt is committed to partner with Rwanda in improving quality health care in the country, adding that the proposed cardiovascular facility was conceived in the same context.