In the realm of the medical progress we are striving for, heart disease should not remain an established early death sentence, First Lady Jeannette Kagame has said.

"We truly can reduce premature mortality due to heart illnesses, and we are committed to doing so,” she said.  

She made the remarks during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Heart Centre in Masaka on Wednesday December 29.

The centre named "MY Heart Centre” is expected to be a state-of-the-art medical hub for heart care services, training and research.

"Today I am grateful, and hopeful, to have laid the foundation stone of MY Heart Centre, which will render our vision of a cardiovascular care and research facility on firm ground, an immediate reality,” she added.

Mrs Kagame said that the MY Heart Centre will address heart disease, adding that it is a health crisis that often "kills in silence”, and ending the year with the start of the construction project of the MY Heart Centre, is truly befitting.

"It is a perfect bridge into the healthy future we want to embrace as people; a future where the fatality of non-communicable diseases, such as heart conditions, and unequal access to quality healthcare, are no longer unbeatable threats,” she added.

She added that the centre models the tangible headway that has been made in Rwanda’s universal access to primary health care, including community health insurance, adding that the next generations will applaud, and work towards, more healthcare models that combine the medical ability, scientific skills, and deeply humanitarian vision.

MY Heart Centre will include a research wing, clinics, operation theatres, radiology rooms, laboratories, pharmacies, accommodation, and an administration block.