Construction work for the first ever heart research centre in Rwanda will be completed by 2023 in Masaka, a suburb of Kigali, an official source revealed on Saturday.
The project is backed by the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD), according to the Egyptian ambassador to Rwanda, Ahmed Samy Mohamed El-Ansary.
The centre will include a research wing, clinics, operation theatres, radiology rooms, laboratories, pharmacies, accommodation, and an administration block
The programme also includes training Rwandan medics and other personnel who will work at the facility.
The centre, to be fully operational in 2-3 years will start with a capacity of about 1,000 people, it said.
Reacting on the move, Dr Evariste Ntaganda, the director of cardiovascular diseases at Rwanda Biomedical Centre, said the proposed facility will train more professional cardiologists.
“Surgical operations are usually expensive but with the proposed heart centre more children and older people will have access to surgical service,” Dr Ntaganda said.
CU/as/APA