A cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 has approved the allocation of state land to Africa Health Sciences University (AHSU) to develop a medical education campus. ALSO READ: Inside Rwanda’s progress on reform to quadruple healthcare workforce Established by King Faisal Hospital, AHSU is a newly accredited health sciences institution training the next generation of health professionals in medicine, pharmacy, nursing and midwifery, laboratory technology, radiography, and other allied health fields. It launched its first academic programmes in Kigali in September 2024, with the initial intake for the Bachelor of Science with Honours in Midwifery, aiming to significantly increase the number of healthcare professionals. ALSO READ: Midwifery scholarship programme to address scarcity of healthcare specialists Students who were admitted in the first intake are primarily based at Kacyiru District Hospital, Muhima District Hospital, and King Faisal Hospital Rwanda for the duration of their training. This initiative to establish the university aligns with the Ministry of Health’s 4x4 reform, which aims to quadruple the number of professionals in the healthcare sector. King Faisal Hospital launched the university in line with the ministerial order, dated April 26, 2024, which authorised the university to begin operations and granted it legal status. ALSO READ: Rwandan nurses, midwives explore new avenues to supplement income The order specified that AHSU is permitted to offer Master’s degree programmes in anaesthesiology, emergency medicine, surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics. It will also provide courses in pharmacy, nursing, midwifery, radiography, and laboratory sciences. The university has started by offering the Bachelor of Science in Midwifery, initially enrolling 40 learners selected from 1,423 applications (a 2.3% acceptance rate for the midwifery programme). This opportunity is highly advantageous for the selected learners, as they will receive full scholarships, accommodation, and stipends during their studies. The selection process prioritised learners who excelled in high school examinations, particularly in biology.
