President Paul Kagame held discussions with Prof. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), focusing on strengthening collaboration to improve healthcare and build a resilient health system in Rwanda and across the region.
A statement from the Office of the President, Village Urugwiro, noted: “They discussed strengthening cooperation aimed at improving healthcare and building a strong health system in Rwanda and the region.”
Rwanda collaborates with WHO on various initiatives. For instance, in 2024 when the Marburg virus outbreak emerged in the country, WHO provided critical support to Rwanda.
At a time when there were concerns among the public, WHO stated that there was no need to impose travel restrictions or limit trade activities between Rwanda and other countries, as outbreaks of Marburg and Mpox had been effectively contained and did not spread widely within the country.
At that time, WHO also announced it was seeking $7.7 million to support Rwanda in combating the Marburg outbreak.
WHO has further partnered with Rwanda in protecting public health through various programs, including fighting HIV/AIDS and responding to outbreaks such as COVID-19 and Mpox. These efforts have contributed to increasing life expectancy in Rwanda to over 69 years.
On the same day, April 21, 2026, President Kagame also received a delegation led by the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr. Sania Nishtar.
According to Village Urugwiro, “Their discussions focused on ongoing collaboration in vaccine distribution, improving public health, and expanding immunization programs to reach everyone.”
On April 20, 2026, Dr. Sania Nishtar and her delegation visited several health institutions, including the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), TKMD Rwanda Ltd, which operates a syringe manufacturing plant in Rwamagana and others.
Dr. Nishtar commended Rwanda for its continued progress in advancing immunization programs for populations affected by various diseases.
The syringe manufacturing plant she visited was inaugurated in 2026, with initial plans to produce up to millions of syringes per day for use both locally and across Africa, where access had previously been limited.
The facility was officially launched on April 1, 2025, and is located in the Mwulire Industrial Zone in Rwamagana District.
Rwanda has made significant progress in vaccine delivery. Last year, RBC highlighted a pilot project exploring the use of drones to distribute vaccines nationwide, aiming to reduce damage caused by the strict storage conditions required for vaccines.
Photos by @UrugwiroVillage
