At #AHTS2025, the UN and partners explored ways to champion innovation and blended finance to accelerate Universal Health Coverage in Rwanda

Kigali, 14 October 2025 — At the Africa Health Tech Summit held in Kigali, United Nations agencies, government representatives, innovators, and private sector partners reaffirmed their joint commitment to accelerating progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through innovation, collaboration, and smart financing.

Under the theme “Delivering as One: Scaling Innovations towards Universal Health Coverage,” the high-level session — convened by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Rwanda, with UNFPA, UNDP, WHO, and FAO — brought together leaders from government, the UN system, civil society, and the private sector to showcase how integrated solutions are transforming Rwanda’s health landscape.

Speaking at the session, Prof. Ozonnia Ojielo, the UN Resident Coordinator in Rwanda, highlighted that the country continues to stand as a compelling example of what aligned partnerships can achieve. 

“Through innovative projects and programmes implemented in close partnership with the Government of Rwanda, we are directly addressing bottlenecks in the health sector and accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals,” he noted.

The dialogue underscored that achieving UHC requires more than isolated pilots or fragmented digital tools — it demands strategic alignment, where government leadership, UN system support, local innovation, and private capital move together with purpose. Rwanda is demonstrating what this alignment looks like in practice:

The Government is setting a clear vision and digital health architecture;

UN agencies are combining their expertise through a joint Delivering as One approach;

Local innovators are building context-fit solutions using AI, telehealth, and data intelligence;

And financial institutions are stepping in to scale what works.

Panelists showcased how collaboration between the UN and the Government of Rwanda is unlocking new opportunities in digital health infrastructure and innovation. Examples included the establishment of the National Health Intelligence Center, youth-led startups supported through the timbuktoo HealthTech Hub, and the expansion of community health facilities through innovative financing models such as the UN Joint Programme on 1000 Health Posts.

Highlighting the importance of private sector engagement, Benjamin Mutimura, Chief Executive Officer of I&M Bank Rwanda, said:

“As a country of a thousand hills, Rwanda’s ambition to establish a thousand health posts is both symbolic and strategic. Through the UN Joint Programme on 1000 Health Posts, we are not only expanding access to primary healthcare — we are investing in the nation’s productivity and resilience. At I&M Bank, we believe that investing in health isn’t charity; it’s smart business. A healthy population drives innovation, fuels economic growth, and strengthens the foundation of sustainable development. That’s why the private sector must see health as a shared investment in the future prosperity of our country.”

Through this Joint Programme — led by UNFPA and supported by six UN agencies — public-private partnerships, including I&M Bank, are enabling nurses to access financing to run community health posts, ensuring that quality healthcare is available close to home, 24/7.

While delivering his keynote remarks, Dr. Muhammed Semakula, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health said  

"Rwanda’s journey toward Universal Health Coverage is driven by collaboration, innovation, and strategic investment. By aligning government leadership with UN expertise, local innovation, and private sector support, we are building a health system that is inclusive, resilient, and ready to scale."

The session concluded with an understanding among participants that Rwanda’s ecosystem for health innovation is well-prepared for scale-up. Delegates noted that the necessary infrastructure is already in place, supported by an enabling policy environment and strong partnerships between government, the UN, innovators, and the private sector. Discussions emphasized the need to move beyond pilot initiatives and transition toward investment-grade scaling, ensuring that digital health solutions promote inclusion and equitable access alongside efficiency.