Mental Wellness, Dental Health Dominate UNITED For Health 2024 Edition

Nutrition students show off a nutritious Yoghurt (Probiotic Yoghurt) which can cure stomach and viginal diseases

The third edition of the UNITED For Health (U4H) Initiative has shown that mental wellness and oral hygiene are among the most highly demanded healthcare services among young Rwandans.

This was highlighted during the two day U4H exhibition where Ndera Neuropsychiatric Teaching Hospital (NNPTH-Ndera hospital) and Rwanda Dental Students Association (RDSA) emerged the Best Exhibitor where 200+ booths showcased health sector opportunities from various healthcare innovations in Rwanda and its stakeholders.

U4H- meaning Universities, NGOs, Industry, The Government; is a collaborative initiative led by the University of Rwanda (UR) and core partners and aims to improve healthcare systems by fostering synergistic collaborations and expertise development opportunities for students and professionals in Rwanda.

U4H partners and organisers tour the exibition

Specifically, U4H aims to promote events and share opportunities related to research funding, capacity building, and scholarships, facilitate local and global student internships, student theses, and joint research projects and provide support services for the local and global private sector to engage with Rwanda’s innovation ecosystem.

The Ndera hospital, which emerged as the best exhibitor for the second year in a row, offers services ranging from Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychiatric and HIV-Mental Health among others which are covered under existing health insurance schemes.

Brother Pascal Uwamungu (middle), a clinical psychologist at NNPTH receives the best exhibitor award

“Our booth was frequented by many university students who were interested in knowing more about drug abuse, alcohol addiction and therapy but most of them wanted to know if mental health is real and treatable,” said Brother Pascal Uwamungu, a clinical psychologist at NNPTH.

Uwamungu said that the appetite to know more about mental healthcare and wellness was high, thus informing the need to create more awareness especially among the young ones and in the rural areas.

Research has shown that there are many Rwandans who have mental health problems as a result of the life and history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis.

For example, a ‘Rwanda Mental Health Survey’ research conducted by the Rwanda Health Center (RBC) in 2018 shows that 22% of Rwandans have severe depression; one in five Rwandans (adults) and 1 among 10 children has issues which need care and attention as depression stands at 11.9%, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 3.6%, alcohol and substance abuse disorder 1.9%.

Students from Kagarama College at the U4H 2024 exibition

Claver Kamuntu Ndoli, the RDSA president said that while many Rwandans value their oral hygiene, there is also lack of information on how to take care of dental health and most of the exhibition visitors, especially youth, wanted to know more.

Rwanda Dental Students Association displays teetth cleaning technics

Other Winners:

Sonia Nyinawumuntu, winner of Research and Innovation Competition, after presenting the “Doula Service”- a maternity healthcare project that can be integrated among health workers to ensure expectant mothers are given holistic health and mental healthcare to reduce maternal child deaths.

She was followed by Runners ups- Awar Monytwic Biong & Simeon Turatsinze and Grace Nyirarukundo;

Sonia Nyinawumuntu (middle), the creator of Duola Care project won the best U4H research student award

The EAC Center for Excellence: Vaccines and Immunization scooped the Best Exhibitor: Department award, while Healthy People Rwanda (HPR) won the Outstanding U4H Opportunity: External Partner award.

The UR Physical Education and Sports Association and the Prosthetics and Orthotics Department won the Outstanding U4H Opportunity (Student’s association and Department) awards respectively.

The U4H-2024 coordinated by the Directorate of Research and Innovation (DRI) at UR-CMHS with core partners (Rwanda Biomedical Center, Partners in Health, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Word Health Organization, Enabel, Zipline).

Prof. Stefan Jansen (left), the U4H Program Chairman and Director of Research and Innovation at UR-CMHS

Prof. Stefan Jansen, the U4H Program Chairman and Director of Research and Innovation at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Rwanda said UNITED For Health is a market of opportunities and a positive thinking for Rwanda’s healthcare sector and this has grown over three years.

As Rwanda heads to implementing the4x4 Reform (a national strategy in Rwanda to increase the number of healthcare workers by four times over the next four years), Jansen said that there is need for collaborations between the universities and other partners to improve the quality of healthcare and it is through the U4H initiative that this can be achieved.

Jansen stated that UNITED For Health tried to professionalize a collaboration relation that intends to create interconnectivity between students under training, the hospitals, private sector and policy makers in the health sector.

“We need better collaborations and if we manage to do that, the healthcare system in Rwanda will make an enormous amount of progress,” Jansen said. “United for health is a positive thinking to change things and resolve existing problems,”

Dr. Theopista John Kabuteni, (right)

Dr. Theopista John Kabuteni, the Reproductive Maternal and Neonatal Health Specialist and Policy Advisor, World Health Organisation (WHO) Rwanda program said that U4H is a testament to the power of collaboration and a strategic partnership that brings all partners together with shared goals.

She said this is part of a long-term effort to professionalize and elevate Rwanda’s healthcare sector and with a strong focus on capacity building, research collaboration, and innovation, it creates an environment where talent thrives, ideas flourish, and solutions to global health challenges are generated.

“In the coming years, we aim to make Rwanda a premier destination for international healthcare internships and professional experiences. By strengthening collaborations within the country’s healthcare ecosystem, we will continue to attract top talent and foster a community of health professionals committed to improving health outcomes,” Kabuteni said.