Thirty Rwandan students are set to leave for China this month to begin studies in medicine, under a new batch of scholarships announced by the Ministry of Health.
Minister of Health Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana disclosed the development during the handover of the newly expanded Masaka Hospital in Kicukiro District, describing it as part of a deepening health partnership between Rwanda and China.
“We got a confirmation that there are new scholarships for 30 medical students going this month to China to study medicine for many years, come back and treat Rwandan patients,” Nsanzimana said.
According to the minister, the students will spend several years training in China before returning to serve in Rwanda’s health system. He said the collaboration between the two countries is no longer limited to hospital construction and infrastructure, and is now extending into training, medical missions, technology transfer and professional exchange.
On the Chinese side, Nsanzimana said Rwanda expects a growing number of Chinese doctors and specialists to work in the country over longer stretches of time and across a wider range of medical fields.
“We already have medical missions, doctors and health professionals that have been coming from China. We expect more to come and stay here longer in different specialties,” he said.
The minister stressed that the value of the partnership should not be measured only in buildings, but in the people who staff and run them.
“It is important to have people at the centre of what we do. This building can be here, but without people, it is just a building,” he said.
He traced the health cooperation between the two nations back roughly 40 years, to early support extended to Kibungo Hospital, and said the relationship has since grown to prioritise pairing infrastructure with skills and expertise that directly benefit patients.
Nsanzimana also pointed to technology as a promising frontier for future cooperation, particularly in extending specialised medical care to patients beyond hospital walls.
“We already have medical missions, doctors and health professionals that have been coming from China. We expect more to come and stay here longer in different specialties,” he said, adding that Rwanda is keen to adopt technologies that allow doctors to treat patients remotely.
Beyond medicine, the minister said the partnership is expected to strengthen cultural ties, with more Rwandans and Chinese nationals expected to travel between the two countries for education, healthcare and professional development.
RADIOTV10