Today I had a very helpful meeting with Dr. Patrick Kyamanywa, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Rwanda. The med school is in Butare, where I will be in a few days, but he and I met in Kigali.
Patrick is a surgeon, with an active medical practice, who is now the acting dean of the med school. We shared insights about the opportunities and challenges of managing a school of medicine at a public university. He is very much a leader in the health sector of Rwanda, and works closely with the Minister of Health and others.
From him, as from others I have met, I gained important insights about Rwanda ? its past, present and future. He is a very impressive person in every respect.
Lunch with CDC Rwanda team
Later I went to the US Embassy, where I met with the CDC team based there. About 30 CDC employees are assigned to Rwanda, and I got the chance to have lunch with a number of them, especially the Country Director for CDC-Rwanda, Dr. Pratima Raghunathan. She is a former EIS officer, who has been with CDC for more than ten years in a number of different assignments. She has been in Rwanda for two years.
CDC's global health mission has grown and developed very substantially since the time I was director (1990-93). In those days we had a global focus, and world-wide reach and impact, but it is now so much greater. With PEPFAR (The President's Emergency Fund for AIDS/HIV Relief) and other US government programs, CDC now has many more people and much more resources on the ground around the world, including here in Rwanda.
Ambassador Stuart Symington
I was also able to see the US Ambassador, Stuart Symington, and to visit briefly with him. I am very proud of what CDC and the US Government more generally are doing in Rwanda.
