Supporting the modernization of Ruhengeri referral hospital

Located in Musanze—Rwanda’s second largest city —Ruhengeri Referral Hospital (RRH) serves a fast-growing population. Each year, it treats over 16,000 inpatients and provides 60,000 outpatient consultations. The hospital’s catchment area is projected to reach 3 million people by 2040, due to strong demographic growth and its proximity to the borders and the Volcanoes National Park.

As a second-level teaching hospital, it also plays a key role in training Rwanda’s future health workforce, in line with the national goal to quadruple the number of health workers by 2028.

However, most of the hospital’s buildings date back to the 1930s–1980s and no longer meet the growing demand or the ambitions for a modern, high-performing health facility.

To facilitate the modernization of the facility, the Government of Rwanda signed a 75 M€ loan agreement with AFD in October 2023.

This financing will support the construction of a 550 beds hospital, including 36 intensive care beds, 8 operating rooms and a conventional radiology platform, MRI and 64-bar scanner, transforming the RRH into one Rwanda’sbest equipped hospitals . The hospital’s 220-bed maternity (including 40 incubators) will reinforce its capacity to address more than 6,000 births a year.

The loan is supplemented by a 4 M€ grant earmarked towards the mobilization of technical expertise and capacity building, implemented by Expertise France. Through this support, French expertise is mobilized to i) train and mentor the hospital’s staff—particularly in hospital administration emergency medicine, critical care and maternal health—to ensure they are fully prepared when the new facility opens; and ii) provide technical support to manage the construction works.

This project supports the Government of Rwanda to:

• Double bed capacity (from 320 to 550)

• Modernize infrastructure with low-carbon design

• Expand surgical and imaging capabilities

• Improve maternal and neonatal care

• Enhance emergency and intensive care services

• Ensure gender-sensitive, accessible healthcare

• Strengthen hospital efficiency and patient flow

Beyond health outcomes, the project will contribute to balanced regional development, support the local economy, promote gender equality, and build climate resilience.