Healthcare in Rwanda

Rwanda has a universal health care system. It has been set up since 1996. It is considered to be one of the highest-quality health systems in Africa.

President Kagame has made healthcare a priority. In 2008, the government spent 9.7% of the budget on healthcare, compared with 3.2% in 1996. There is a system of health insurance providers called mutuelles de santé. They run at the level of Rwanda's thirty districts. The cost is according to wealth. The poorest citizens get free health insurance and the wealthiest paying premiums of US$8 per adult a year. The government set up training institutes including the Kigali Health Institute. That was started in 1997 and is now part of the University of Rwanda. There are 499 health centers, 42 district hospitals and 58,286 Community Health Workers who provide primary care in the 14,837 villages. There are four national specialist hospitals, which are Kigali University Teaching Hospital, Butare University Teaching Hospital, King Faisal Hospital Kigali and the Rwanda Military Hospital.