Rwanda graduates its first two kidney transplant surgeons
Dr Emmanuel Muhawenimana and Dr Alexandre Nyirimodoka have already performed 114 transplants at King Faisal Hospital. They were among 1,331 health graduates from the University of Rwanda.
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Kayonza — Rwanda now has its own kidney transplant surgeons. Dr Emmanuel Muhawenimana and Dr Alexandre Nyirimodoka graduated from the University of Rwanda on Friday, 23 October, at its Rukara campus in Kayonza District, The New Times reports.
Working under the mentorship of Prof Jeffrey David Punch of the University of Michigan, the two have already performed 114 kidney transplants at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali since 2023, according to the Ministry of Health, which called their graduation a milestone in building local capacity for specialised care.
A bigger health workforce
They were among 1,331 health graduates (and 4,953 graduates in all) at the ceremony, including:
- 497 nurses and midwives
- 120 doctors
- 78 specialists and subspecialists, in fields such as neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, anatomical pathology and medical oncology
The 4x4 reform
The graduation is a result of Rwanda's 4x4 Health Workforce Development Reform, launched in July 2023 to quadruple the number of trained health professionals in four years. The ministry says enrolment between 2023 and 2025 was 3.3 times historical levels, with more than 16,360 new students by December 2025. Residency programmes have grown from 17 to 24 and fellowship programmes from 8 to 25 subspecialties, covering transplant surgery, oncology and cardiology. The aim: fewer patients needing to travel abroad for treatment.
Education Minister Joseph Nsengimana told graduates not to wait for opportunities but to use their knowledge and creativity to create them.
Source: The New Times, 24 October 2026.
