Expanding Access to Rheumatology Care in Rwanda
Monday, May 12, 2025 – 09:00am
Video: Expanding Access to Rheumatology Care in Rwanda.
In Rwanda, until recently, Dr. Janvier Murayire, Rheumatologist and Internal Medicine Physician at King Faisal Hospital Rwanda, was the only rheumatologist to support the more than 14 million people living in the country.
Rheumatic diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, cause joint inflammation and severe pain, affecting peoples’ physical, mental, and emotional health, often limiting their daily activities. Unfortunately, in medically underserved communities around the world, people can struggle to get the high-quality, innovative care they need – not because treatments don’t exist, but because they may lack access due to existing health system barriers.
Through Accord for a Healthier World, Pfizer is enabling access to its portfolio of medicines and vaccines for which it has global rights on a not-for-profit basis to eligible countries, giving countries like Rwanda access to new treatments that are helping address patient health challenges, like rheumatoid arthritis.
But supply alone isn’t enough. For medicines and vaccines to reach people who need them, system-level challenges limiting or preventing access must also be addressed, including the lack of trained healthcare workers.
In Rwanda, with support and resources from the Accord, including continuous medical education, Dr. Janvier Murayire is working to expand access to care. Through the collaboration, Dr. Janvier has trained more than 10 physician specialists, who are now running functional rheumatology units at their respective institutions nationwide. As a result, more than 2,500 patients have been helped through increased access to rheumatological care they would not have previously had.
Through sustainable, long-term solutions, the Accord is collaborating with country governments and other global health leaders to help close the health equity gap and ensure those who need it most have access to innovative, high-quality treatment and care.