A team of six paediatric cardiac specialists from Israel will from Monday begin a week-long mission at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali, providing life-saving treatment to children with heart disease while helping Rwanda strengthen its capacity to deliver specialised cardiac care locally.

The mission, organised through a partnership between King Faisal Hospital, the Embassy of Israel in Rwanda and Save a Child’s Heart (SACH), is expected to provide paediatric cardiac catheterisation procedures for between 15 and 25 children.

The initiative comes as Rwanda seeks to expand access to advanced cardiac services and reduce the number of children waiting for specialised treatment. More than 400 children are currently on the waiting list for paediatric cardiac procedures.

According to medical experts, congenital heart disease is among the most common birth defects globally, affecting about one in every 100 children, with around a quarter requiring surgery or other major interventions during childhood.

Life-saving procedures and skills transfer

Simon Fisher, Executive Director of Save a Child's Heart, said the visiting team is excited to return to Rwanda and support a programme increasingly led by local specialists.

"We will be saving the lives of between 15 and 25 children suffering from heart disease,” Fisher said.

Most of the selected children will undergo catheterisation procedures, a minimally invasive intervention used to close holes in the heart through implanted devices.

"The children can be cured through catheterisation. They will undergo an implant device that can close the hole in their heart and within a day or two they can be discharged and go home with a healthy heart,” Fisher explained.

Beyond treating patients, the mission is designed to strengthen Rwanda’s healthcare workforce through hands-on training and knowledge transfer.

The visiting specialists will work alongside Rwandan doctors, including Dr. Gerald Misago, Rwanda’s first paediatric interventional cardiology trainee. After completing three years of specialised training in Israel, he now leads paediatric interventional cardiology services at King Faisal Hospital.

For Fisher, the mission’s greatest achievement is helping Rwanda build a sustainable system capable of providing these services independently.

"The whole idea is that this is a Rwandan-led service. We are here to support doctors who brought back knowledge from Israel and are now leading these services in Rwanda,” he said.

Over the years, Save a Child’s Heart has supported the training of Rwandan health professionals in paediatric cardiology, paediatric intensive care, cardiac anaesthesia and paediatric cardiac surgery.

The organisation has also invested over $1.5 million in the last three years in equipment, consumables, training programmes and treatment support.

Building Rwanda’s cardiac surgery capacity

The mission also highlights progress toward establishing a paediatric cardiac surgery programme in Rwanda.

Among the delegation is Dr. Jean de Dieu Nsanzimana, a Rwandan surgeon currently undertaking a five-year paediatric cardiac surgery fellowship in Israel. Having completed his first year of training, he is expected to return to Rwanda to help lead paediatric cardiac surgery services at King Faisal Hospital.

Nsanzimana said congenital heart disease remains a major public health challenge, particularly because many children are diagnosed late. Untreated heart defects can lead to stunted growth, developmental delays and learning difficulties.

"Most of these children face growth problems and other health complications, including mental development issues that can affect their studies,” he said.

While many children previously lacked access to specialised treatment, Rwanda has made significant progress through investments in specialised healthcare services and partnerships with international institutions.

Data from paediatric cardiac programmes show post-procedural survival rates of between 96 per cent and 98.1 per cent, with 30-day mortality rates ranging from 1.5 per cent to 1.9 per cent.

Despite these gains, a shortage of highly specialised personnel remains a challenge.

Nsanzimana said missions such as the current one help accelerate skills transfer to local teams in areas including paediatric cardiac catheterisation, congenital heart defect diagnosis, cardiac imaging, echocardiography, intensive care management, cardiac anaesthesia, post-operative care and paediatric heart surgery.

The collaboration forms part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Save a Child's Heart and Rwanda's Ministry of Health in October 2023. Since then, dozens of Rwandan children with complex heart conditions have received treatment in Israel, while local healthcare workers have continued receiving advanced training.

Vision for a self-sustaining programme

The long-term goal, Fisher said, is for Rwanda to provide all major paediatric cardiac services locally within five years.

"The vision is that within five years, all these services can be provided here at King Faisal Hospital through a Rwandan team that is being trained in Israel and elsewhere around the world,” said Fisher.

The initiative aligns with Rwanda’s ambition to become a regional medical hub for highly specialised healthcare services.

Nsanzimana believes the country is on the right path to becoming a centre of excellence for paediatric cardiac care in East and Central Africa, making treatment more accessible and affordable while reducing dependence on overseas referrals.

He also underscored the importance of early detection through regular antenatal care.

"If these conditions are identified before birth, proper planning can be made to ensure babies are delivered in facilities that can provide immediate care,” he said.