In the last ten years or so, Rwanda has made unprecedented progress in health indicators, e.g. reducing
maternal deaths by more than 50% and infant and child deaths by more than 40%, and increasing the
overall use of health services. Despite these gains, the country faces a critical shortage of qualified
health workers and battles the double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases on the
health system. The Government thus continues to prioritize the development of the health sector, and is
backing this by corresponding budget allocations. Up to date, health care in Rwanda is mainly both
funded and delivered by the public sector, but the government is now emphasizing private sector
participation in the provision and financing of high quality health care, and public private partnerships
(PPP) in the development and implementation of the health care delivery. The health care sector is thus
undergoing important changes, giving rise to potential business opportunities.
The overall objective of this study is to provide a general overview of the Rwandan health care sector –
the health situation of Rwandans, the health system and the actors that it consists of as well as policies
and regulations that are the bases for the future development of the sector. In addition, the report
identifies opportunities for Swedish actors within the Rwandan health care sector, and aims to provide
input on how to meet these opportunities (and challenges) in order to create business and collaboration
in Rwanda for Swedish health care organizations and companies. The ultimate aim is to contribute to
improved healthcare in terms of quality and access, through cooperation between public and private
Swedish and Rwandan health care actors.