GHLI Programs in Rwanda
At the 2009 Yale Global Health Leadership Institute Conference, the delegation from Rwanda set forth an important strategic objective: to develop sufficient numbers of skilled health care workers to meet the health care delivery needs in Rwanda. Since then, GHLI has been developing a strategy to build the capacity of Rwandan universities and teaching hospitals to develop a sustainable pipeline of health care professionals. These skilled health care workers will in turn support the mission of referral hospitals, district hospitals and other parts of the health care delivery system.
GHLI’s work in Rwanda will bring together experts from internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN and health management in an interdisciplinary effort to strengthen the pipeline of health care professionals. The clinical specialties will focus on developing a more robust set of residency programs at the Rwanda University of Medicine and Health Sciences (RUMHS) and associated teaching hospitals. The health management program, developed in partnership with the School of Public Health at the National University of Rwanda, will train health care workers from across the country to take on leadership roles in hospital administration.
In alignment with the Ministry of Health’s 2011-2016 Strategic Plan for Human Resources for Health, and with the objective of developing management capacity at the hospital level, a multi-pronged approach will be utilized, which includes:
- On-site mentors in select teaching hospitals will support and develop management teams, strengthen leadership capacity, build management systems, and improve quality of care.
- The Certificate of International Health Management to be offered by the RUMHS will provide training in key management principles such as strategic problem solving, human resource and financial management, operations and quality improvement.
- A CEO or COO role for hospital leadership will be established at government hospitals, a fundamental step toward creating the high-level management structures that are needed to bring about organizational change.
- A two-year Master’s in Healthcare Administration program will be developed in collaboration with the School of Public Health at RUMHS combing classroom-based work in management and leadership and field-based work to apply and refine these skills.
Rwanda has also participated as a delegation to the GHLI Conference.
