The response to the endemic problem of unemployment will contribute to stopping the demographic haemorrhage so devastating of young people who die every day in search of better opportunities elsewhere.
How can Rwanda or other African countries contribute to addressing this challenge? Could some lines of thought awaken consciousness?
Health & Employment
Rwanda's leadership, in its second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), confirms access to quality healthcare by quadrupling the number of certified health workers and improving maternal and child health services.
All while intensifying the fight against malnutrition. However, let's consider other avenues for reflection and suggestions.
Can the retraining of unemployed university graduates into healthcare professionals absorb a significant portion of the unemployed?
How can the healthcare sector become the spearhead of employment and effectively combat youth unemployment?
As a corollary, a university graduate who retrains as a healthcare professional can leverage knowledge acquired in sociology, economics, law, or other fields to add value to the healthcare sector.
This retraining into "Healthcare Professionals" can range from seven categories of nurses, including acupuncture, auriculotherapy, physiotherapy, mesotherapy, cryotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, hydrotherapy, and all medical and paramedical specialities.
In the U.S., nursing is categorised into seven distinct levels. Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) provide basic care with minimal training, while Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) handle more complex tasks after one to two years of vocational education.
Registered Nurses (RN) perform advanced procedures and oversee CNAs and LPNs, requiring an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree.
Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNP) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) specialise in various medical fields, with ARNPs needing postgraduate education and NPs holding a Master’s or Doctoral degree.
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) nurses focus on clinical practice and leadership, and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD) nurses are involved in research and education, shaping healthcare policies and advancing nursing science.
If the relevant ministry focuses on filling the needs of second-generation health centres, district hospitals, and university referral hospitals, these healthcare professionals could, in large numbers and with the necessary skills, also accompany humanitarian missions abroad.
And once Rwanda has sufficient personnel in the country, could it not, like Cuba, provide healthcare workers to African countries lacking personnel or even to other parts of the world?
If Belgium, France, and Germany, for example, face a shortage of thousands of nurses and general practitioners, as do other European and American countries, why not consider a "win-win" model by providing qualified healthcare personnel of the same standard once Rwanda's needs are met?
Military, Arts & Crafts
Another avenue for retraining could be the military, where arts and crafts would be taught, especially to girls, to reach a 50% representation in the military and thus close the gender gap among female soldiers.
By learning martial arts, women could defend themselves against assaults. In addition to the discipline taught in the military, the culture of order, already part of ancestral and traditional values, would boost unemployed female university graduates in managing their future households.
Languages & Sports
Learning and improving languages, combined with sports for the unemployed, can go hand in hand with hours of community service, ensuring a minimum guaranteed social support.
These languages can be useful anywhere and help fill gaps for those who have not mastered any language.
Learning multiple languages, starting with reinforcing Kinyarwanda, not only opens the mind but also goes hand in hand with Geography and History, providing the tools to work anywhere in the world.
A sporting spirit aligns with civic-mindedness and national unity. Sports, in itself, can offer earning opportunities while ensuring a healthy lifestyle.
A healthy mind in a healthy body.
The writer is a Doctor, Thinker, and Writer