Transforming Healthcare with AI: Rwanda’s Innovation Journey

Thirty years ago, Rwanda's healthcare system was in crisis, lacking infrastructure and medical professionals. Through strategic investments, the country has achieved universal health coverage and strengthened its workforce, particularly with community health workers.

Despite progress, a key challenge remains: equipping frontline health workers with advanced clinical expertise. Rwanda is addressing this by integrating AI-powered decision support tools. In partnership with Digital Umuganda, locally trained language models in Kinyarwanda assist in diagnosing diseases, increasing accuracy from 8% to 71%.

The country is now extending its generative AI capabilities to sectors like agriculture and e-governance. This approach demonstrates that AI-driven solutions can be inclusive, scalable, and effective in tackling global challenges.