American philanthropist and billionaire Bill Gates has attended the inaugural Paul Farmer Butaro Dialogues on Health Equity and Innovation held at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Butaro, Burera District.

The dialogue, which took place on Wednesday, July 22, and was hosted in partnership with the Consortium of Medical Schools-Africa (COMS-A), brought together senior government officials, academic institutions, philanthropic foundations, clinicians, civil society organisations, students, and young innovators to discuss ways of advancing equitable access to health innovations, with a focus on maternal, newborn, and child health.

ALSO READ: Bill Gates visits Rwanda’s health intelligence centre

The discussions come amid continued challenges in reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths in Africa.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), maternal deaths in the African region declined by 40 per cent between 2000 and 2023, from 727 to 442 deaths per 100,000 live births. However, the continent still accounts for about 70 per cent of global maternal deaths.

The WHO estimates that each year, about 178,000 mothers and one million newborns die in Africa, many from preventable causes.

During the dialogues, participants showcased four innovations aimed at improving maternal, newborn, and child health.

These include the East Africa Biodesign Programme and UGHE’s AI-integrated medical education initiative, which focus on training healthcare professionals to develop locally relevant health technologies and apply artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Participants also learned about the Rwanda Biomedical Centre’s partnership with Charis UAS, which uses drones and artificial intelligence to identify mosquito breeding sites and apply targeted larvicides as part of malaria control efforts.

Other innovations presented included multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) to improve maternal and newborn health by providing pregnant women with essential vitamins and minerals, as well as risk screening for pre-eclampsia to identify pregnant women at high risk of the potentially life-threatening condition and enable early care.

UGHE Vice Chancellor Prof Phil Cotton said the university was established around the vision that high-quality healthcare can thrive in rural Africa, making Butaro a fitting location for the inaugural dialogue.

ALSO READ: How Rwandan ‘virtual hospital’ is changing maternal, newborn healthcare

He noted that Butaro is where the late Dr Paul Farmer "lived, worked, taught and where Paul died.”

"The theme of this inaugural dialogue, maternal, newborn and child health, is both timely and important. Across Africa we face an unacceptable and unbearable burden of preventable maternal and newborn deaths,” Cotton said.

He stressed that while science and technology continue to advance, their impact depends on whether innovations reach the communities that need them most.

"These innovations offer enormous promise, but their true value depends on whether they become accessible to the women, children and families who need them most,” he said.

Quoting Dr Farmer, Cotton said: "Research and training in global health are for nothing if they fail to improve the delivery of health services,” adding that the dialogues aim to explore how innovation can be translated into policy, education, and routine clinical practice.

Prof Lukoye Atwoli of Aga Khan University Medical College and a representative of COMSA’s Executive Committee, said the consortium is working to transform medical education to respond to the changing healthcare landscape.

COMSA currently brings together 191 medical schools across 37 African countries and aims to grow its membership to more than 200 institutions by the end of the year.

UGHE was launched in 2015 as an initiative of Partners In Health (PIH). It was built with early catalytic funding of $30 million from both the Cummings Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, alongside strong support from the Rwandan government.