PRESS RELEASE: New WHO Representative in Rwanda Presents Credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

KIGALI, 22 MAY 2019 - The newly appointed Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to the Republic of Rwanda, Dr Kasonde Mwinga, today presented her credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Richard Sezibera.

The Minister accepted the credentials and welcomed Dr Mwinga to Rwanda.

In her remarks, the WHO Representative congratulated the Government of Rwanda for its various achievements in the health sector. She particularly commended Rwanda’s visionary leadership, its culture of being results focused and its use of innovative solutions to improve health and wellbeing.

Dr Mwinga indicated that the past success in achieving Millennium Goal Targets is a good stepping-stone towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and acknowledged the Government’s good collaboration with WHO. She assured the Minister that WHO would continue to collaborate in health matters in alignment with national priorities. 

The WHO Representative pledged her full support to fulfill key health priorities and promote health in other sector policies to accelerate attainment of the SDGs, indicating that WHO’s work in Rwanda will focus on promoting health and wellbeing, protection from health emergencies and Universal Health Coverage.

 Dr K. Mwinga, WHO Representative (left), and Dr R. Sezibera, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Rwanda (right) 

The Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation stated that the country has enjoyed good working relations with WHO across the three levels of the Organization. In Rwanda, health is the pillar for all Development and is placed high on the national agenda by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Rwanda.

The Minister indicated that the broad scope of the SDGs necessitates working across sectors and engaging the communities in addressing the determinants of health. He pointed out that decentralization, the Community Health Workers initiative, Performance Based Financing and the Community Based Health Insurance scheme continue to play a significant role in strong ownership and good performance of the health sector in Rwanda.

Dr Sezibera commended the WHO Director General’s message to countries on the adoption of Universal Health Coverage as a means to ensuring “no one is left behind” and reiterated his full support to WHO, inviting Dr. Mwinga to work with the Ministry of Health as the line Ministry as well as support collaborative capacities with other health contributing sectors.  

 

Dr Mwinga was appointed as the new World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Rwanda from 01 May 2019, having joined WHO in 2001 and served in various capacities in several countries since.

More about the new Representative

Dr Mwinga is a pediatrician and public health specialist. Her previous roles include Team Leader in WHO India and Acting WHO Representative, Eritrea. She has worked in WHO African Regional Office, in Brazzaville and in WHO Zambia. Before joining WHO, she worked as a paediatrician and lecturer in Zambia. She holds a Master in Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the United States, Health Management postgraduate certificate from Birmingham University in the United Kingdom and medical degrees (MBChB, MMed –Paed and B.SC.HB) from the University of Zambia.