Development of emergency medicine in Rwanda

ABSTRACT

"Rwanda; known as the ""Land of a Thousand Hills;"" is a small; East African country that was the site of the devastating 1994 genocide. In the past 18years; this post-conflict country has made tremendous progress in rebuilding itself and its health infrastructure. The country has recovered or surpassed many of its pre-1994 health levels; including reduction in HIV/AIDS prevalence; under-five mortality and road traffic accidents. Nevertheless; Rwanda continues to face a high burden of disease. The leading causes of mortality in Rwanda include complications of HIV/AIDS and related opportunistic infections; severe malaria; pulmonary infections; and trauma; and are best managed with emergency and acute care services. However; health care personal resources remain significantly lacking; and there is currently no emergency medicine-trained workforce. The Rwandan government; partnering with international organizations; has launched a campaign to improve human resources for health; and as a part of that effort the creation of training programs in emergency medicine is now underway. The Rwandan Human Resources for Health program can serve as a guide to the development of similar programs within other African countries. The emergency medicine component of this program includes two tracks a 2-year postgraduate diploma course; followed by a 3-year Masters of Medicine in Emergency Medicine. The program is slated to graduate its first cohort of trained Emergency Physicians in 2017."