Admin 
The French Agency for Development (AFD) has granted the government a €75 million (more than Rwf91 billion) loan to modernize Ruhengeri Referral Hospital.
On Monday, October 30, Arthur Germond, Director of AFD in Rwanda, and Richard Tusabe, Minister of State for National Treasury, signed the concessional loan agreement.
The Ministry of Health has also classified the referral hospital as a second-degree teaching hospital, which is ranked lower than a university hospital.
With six neighboring districts using Ruhengeri Hospital as their reference medical facility and an estimated 2.1 to 3 million more residents by 2040, the hospital is situated in Musanze District.
The hospital was built in 1939 and is now at capacity.
The construction of new infrastructure and the renovation of current facilities will be the primary goals of this money.
“Reuengeri Referral Hospital is no longer able to meet the needs of the entire population due to factors such as population increase, epidemiological shifts, the implementation of universal health care, and the surrounding tourism backdrop. The building, restoration, and provision of medical equipment will be financed by the AFD. According to Tusabe, the goal is to give the people of the Northern Province long-term access to healthcare.
According to him, funding would take the form of a concessional loan with an estimated 1% interest rate that will be paid back over the course of 20 years, plus a five-year grace period.
The modernization project would create additional critical care units, diagnostic departments (electrocardiogram, MRI, and CT scan), and double the hospital’s capacity, increasing it from 320 to roughly 650 beds,.
Additionally, in accordance with government priorities, AFD will grant €4 million (roughly Rwf5.1 billion), which will be overseen by AFD’s Technical Cooperation Agency, to support medical staff capacity-building and training, with a focus on infectious diseases, acute medicine, and obstetrics and gynecological and child health.
AFD’s activities in Rwanda are based on two fundamental pillars: health and climate resilience. We’re committed to making a significant, practical difference and are focused on having these new projects show tangible results by 2023.
A positive start, the training of the first cardiologists began in Kigali in October 2023, and before the end of the year, more practitioners will be trained in Ruhengeri.