The Government and the African Development Bank (AfDB), signed a financial agreement worth $18 million (about Rwf13 billion).
The
financial support, a concessional loan, will support the establishment
of a Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and e-Health (CEBE)
at the University of Rwanda (UR). Speaking after the signing ceremony in
Kigali, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Amb.
Economic
Planning, Amb. Claver Gatete, said the support will contribute to the
development of relevant and highly skilled workforce in biomedical
sciences to help meet East African Community’s immediate labour market
needs.
It will also support the implementation of EAC’s ‘free’ labour market protocols.
“We
need to create centres of excellence in science and medicine that will
boost skills, equipment, infrastructure not only in the health sector
but also in socio-economic development,” Amb. Gatete added.
The CEBE Rwanda will be part of the EAC network of centres of excellence and will target students from the partner states.
The institute will provide leadership in training, research and preventive maintenance services to cater for regional needs.
One
of the key pillars of CEBE is to strengthen the synergy between the
academia, the government and the private sector while harnessing the
transformational power of biomedical engineering and ICT for
cost-effective service provision and job creation.
The CEBE will seek ways to ensure development of e-Health tools and systems within the region.
Negatu
Makonnen, AfDB country representative, said the project will contribute
to the development of relevant and skilled workforce in biomedical
sciences.
“We
expect the outcomes to include improved access to timely, affordable
and quality specialised biomedical services in the region, but also
specialised tertiary education in this sector.”
“What
we have signed today brings the overall AfDB commitment to $656 million
and is primarily focused on infrastructure, finance, energy and
transport sectors,” he added. Prof. James McWha, the vice-chancellor of
the University of Rwanda, said the project brings value, noting that as
“our health improves so is the opportunity to improve the economy.”
AfDB
Country Strategy Paper (CSP) is aligned to Rwanda’s Vision 2020 and the
second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy. The current
CSP (2012- 2016) focuses on infrastructure (energy, transport,
agriculture, water and sanitation) and private sector development.
Infrastructure accounts for 69.3 per cent of the total commitments.
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