The Minister of Health, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, has called for a transformative approach to surgical healthcare in Rwanda, and Africa, stressing the need for practical solutions that ensure equitable, timely, and safe surgeries for all.
Speaking during the Pan-African Surgical Healthcare Forum (PASHeF) held in Kigali from September 16-17, Dr. Nsanzimana highlighted the critical gap in the surgical workforce and infrastructure, urging policymakers and healthcare providers to focus on implementation rather than adding to the collection of unused policies and forums.
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Reflecting on two years of work with the PASHeF initiative, Dr. Nsanzimana noted the steady progress made but stressed the need for greater urgency in addressing the continent’s surgical healthcare challenges.
"We are seeing progress, but we need to run faster. There is a growing demand for surgical care, particularly in Africa, where the healthcare workforce remains insufficient for the continent’s rapidly increasing population,” he said
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Dr. Nsanzimana pointed to alarming projections from the World Health Organization, which predict that by 2035, Africa will be the only continent where the gap between trained surgeons and people in need of care will widen. He stressed that the population is increasing, but the workforce is not, warning that without immediate reforms to training and healthcare infrastructure, millions of lives could be affected.
The minister stressed the need to invest in people – training more surgeons and medical professionals to meet the demand. He said, the advancements in technology, such as distance learning and artificial intelligence, can make surgical training more accessible.
"At our time, there were only a few books to share. Today, libraries are on our phones, we should advocate for a future where technology accelerates surgical training and expertise across the continent,” he said.
Beyond workforce development, Dr. Nsanzimana noted the importance of upgrading facilities, especially operating theaters, to ensure safe surgeries free from infections and complications. He said that there is slow progress in improving hospital infrastructure, noting that pathogens and infections continue to evolve faster than the facilities designed to prevent them.
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Addressing the economic barriers to surgery, the minister shared a striking example of how changes in procurement processes could drastically reduce the cost of procedures.
He cited a recent case in Rwanda where the cost of a total hip replacement was reduced from $10,000 to $1,000 simply by bypassing unnecessary middlemen in the supply chain.
"That’s $9,000 saved by changing the way we operate. I urge similar reforms to reduce costs and clear the backlog of patients awaiting surgery,” he explained.
While the forum reviewed the progress made since PASHeF’s 2023 Consensus Statement, Dr. Nsanzimana urged participants not to let PASHeF become another forum that organises meetings and creates documents that sit on shelves. He called for an impact-oriented approach that prioritises training, infrastructure, and access to surgical tools and supplies.
The minister challenged forum participants to return, next year, with concrete results – more trained surgeons, reduced surgical costs, and shared expertise that drive meaningful change in their respective countries.
"If we need it, and we are going to do it, it’s a responsibility to help the most vulnerable among us,” he said.