Rwanda 20 years on: investing in life

Lancet. 2014 Jul 26;384(9940):371-5. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60574-2. Epub 2014 Apr 4.

Abstract

Two decades ago, the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda led to the deaths of 1 million people, and the displacement of millions more. Injury and trauma were followed by the effects of a devastated health system and economy. In the years that followed, a new course set by a new government set into motion equity-oriented national policies focusing on social cohesion and people-centred development. Premature mortality rates have fallen precipitously in recent years, and life expectancy has doubled since the mid-1990s. Here we reflect on the lessons learned in rebuilding Rwanda's health sector during the past two decades, as the country now prepares itself to take on new challenges in health-care delivery.

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Child Mortality
  • Delivery of Health Care / organization & administration*
  • Genocide
  • HIV Infections / epidemiology
  • HIV Infections / prevention & control
  • HIV Infections / therapy
  • Health Policy
  • Humans
  • Rwanda / epidemiology
  • Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / mortality
  • Warfare