April 24, 2006 Source: :
http://communications.uwo.ca/media_newsroom/story.html?listing_id=21228 President of Rwanda Visits Western as Rebuilding Efforts Grow London, ON. - Rwandan President Paul Kagame is at The University of Western Ontario today in his first trip to Canada. Kagame toured medical education facilities at the University this morning where it was announced that Western will be conducting an external review of the Faculty of Medicine at the National University of Rwanda (NUR). A team of experts has been assembled and the review will get underway this June. Rwanda's health care system was decimated during the genocide of 1994. "In Rwanda today, there are 200 doctors for a population of eight million. That breaks down to one doctor per 40,000 people," says Dr. David Cechetto, a professor at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, who has been pivotal in organizing the review. "We hope that through this process we will be able to provide valuable information to the medical faculty at NUR in their efforts to rebuild their medical education system." Western is the primary Canadian university in Rwanda and is heavily involved in a project called Rebuilding Health in Rwanda. A major facet of the project focuses on the education and training of nursing professionals at the Kigali Health Institute. There are 1,500 nurses in Rwanda and they are the primary providers of health care, yet 80 per cent lack post-secondary education. Western's President Paul Davenport travelled to Rwanda earlier this year to see the project first-hand and to get a better sense of the challenges facing the country. "While in Rwanda I had an opportunity to visit the AIDS and paediatric wards at the Centre Hospitalier de Kigali. It was a deeply moving experience for me personally - it demonstrated both the inspiring commitment of Rwandan health care professionals and the need for external help of the sort that Western faculty are providing." The University's relationship with Rwanda began with the efforts of Cechetto. In 2004, he organized a collection and shipment of textbooks and other medical supplies to Rwanda, where it is not uncommon for entire nursing classes to share one book. As the project grew he recruited others, and today Carroll Iwasiw, professor and former director of Western's School of Nursing, is a fellow project leader. "David and Carroll have been outstanding leaders on the Rwanda project. What began as a shipment of supplies has evolved into a program delivered by committed faculty from several universities and colleges that will have an immense impact on the future of health care in Rwanda," says Davenport. "It also serves as a fine example of the difference we can make in the world, individually and collectively." Last year the project received $1 million dollars from the Canadian International Development Agency. President Kagame will be speaking at a noon-hour luncheon and will conclude his visit to Western by meeting with members of Canada's Rwandan community. - 30 - For more information please contact Ruta Pocius, Media Relations at 519-661-2111, ext. 85468, cell 519-495-7717 or Christine Roulston at 519-661-2111, ext. 85165.
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