Rwanda News

I would like to congratulate the Government of Rwanda, through the Ministry of Health, especially you Minister of Health, for the exceptional leadership in effectively containing the very first Marburg virus disease outbreak in Rwanda. Your decisive actions, unwavering commitment, and rapid response were instrumental in preventing widespread negative impact and safeguarding lives. This remarkable achievement underscores Rwanda’s strong health system, resilience and dedication to protecting public health.

Kigali, Rwanda – The outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease was declared over today by the Government of Rwanda with no new cases reported over the last 42 days after the last patient tested negative for the virus twice, as per the usual protocol for ending these types of outbreaks.

Kigali - Esther Uwababyeyi's journey with HIV began at a young age. "Since the age of three, I've been on HIV treatment,” she says. Born in 2002, Uwababyeyi was infected during her mother’s pregnancy, a time when access to HIV treatment for women living with HIV was only just starting to improve. Now 22 years old and living in Rwanda’s Rwamagana district in the Eastern Province, she has benefitted greatly from the advancements in country’s HIV treatment programme over the years.

Esther Uwababyeyi’s journey with HIV began at a young age. "Since the age of three, I've been on HIV treatment due to mother-to-child transmission," she says. The 22-year-old who lives in Rwamagana district in Eastern province of Rwanda, has been a first-hand witness to the innovations of the HIV response in the country since the early days of the response.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), has provided financial and technical support to medical students from the Medical Student Association of Rwanda (MEDSAR) to build their capacity in evidence generation and use. Through a learning by doing approach, 50 medical students were trained in how to conduct operational research by developing research protocols, data collection, data cleaning, analysis and report writing.

It is a bustling morning at the Nyabahinga market, in Burera District in Rwanda. The place is alive with music blasting and loud voices of sellers calling for customers and haggling prices. In a distinct quiet corner, a simple table stands out, manned by young people dressed in white lab coats. Curiosity draws one person after another to find out who these people are until the music is suddenly interrupted.