Forty-four Rwandans have, so far, received kidney transplants and 541 had heart surgeries in the country, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Yvan Butera, said on Thursday, March 6, as he briefed lawmakers about the challenges in healthcare provision and the government’s efforts in ensuring that patients get the medical services they need in the country. ALSO READ: First kidney transplant surgeries successfully performed in Rwanda The minister of state pointed out that kidney transplants and heart surgeries are among the major cases Rwanda sends abroad for treatment. Butera said that a domestic kidney transplant procedure programme was launched in 2023, while a heart surgery programme was started the year before. He said that the launch of such medical procedures goes hand in hand with the recent increase in healthcare services covered by the community-based health insurance scheme commonly known as Mutuelle de Sante which helps majority of Rwandans to get insured medical treatment. ALSO READ: Kidney transplants now covered under Mutuelle de Santé – RSSB The additional medical services under the Mutuelle de Sante package include kidney transplantation, heart surgery, and cancer treatment. “We have started observing the impact of the services that were included in it [Mutuelle de Sante]. We have so far performed kidney transplants for 44 Rwandans since the inception of the programme,” he said. “Also, we have performed heart surgery on 356 children and 185 adults since we started this programme,” he said.
