5

Institutional Capacity for Health Professional Education

An educational institution’s capacity to provide ongoing, high-quality health professional education requires adequate administrative infrastructure and institutional support to recruit and sustain dedicated faculty, enable them to improve their teaching skills and update curricula as the evidence base changes, and provide them with the necessary teaching equipment and materials. A 2008 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GWHA) calls for a rapid and significant scale-up of education and training of health workers and highlights

several innovative educational activities shown to be an efficient and effective means for expanding teachers’ capacity, improving the quality of care provided by trainees, increasing the number of available instructors and the stock of future teachers, promoting the quality of instruction, and meeting the needs of the health system (WHO and GHWA, 2008). These activities include curriculum innovations for pre- and in-service training, academic partnerships, the use of nontraditional teachers and teaching programs, and incentives for health workers. Nontraditional teaching programs have encompassed twinning programs, continuing education, programs that reduce overall training time, train-the-trainer models, and “chain” education (WHO and GHWA, 2008). In Rwanda, several training programs and other efforts along these lines have been expanded or introduced to address the critical shortage of qualified health professionals.

In 2013, concurrent with the initiation of the Human Resources for Health (HRH) Program, the Rwandan government restructured its overall public higher education system, merging seven institutions into the newly established University of Rwanda to improve coordination,¹ collaboration, and coherence (Cubaka et al., 2015; Flinkenflögel et al., 2015a). The former National University of Rwanda Faculty of Medicine merged with the Kigali Health Institute and three former schools of nursing and midwifery to form the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) in the University of Rwanda (Flinkenflögel et al., 2015b). CMHS also joined the newly launched East Africa Health Professions Educators Association, a regional network of universities and health professional educators (Flinkenflögel et al., 2015b). Five schools are housed under CMHS: Medicine and Pharmacy, Nursing and Midwifery, Dentistry, Public Health, and Health Sciences.

This chapter describes HRH Program outcomes across the landscape of health professional education in the University of Rwanda, as well as in clinical training sites. Literature on the HRH Program has documented processes and outputs primarily within the following domains: trainees’ perceptions of HRH Program curricula or activities; measurements of knowledge acquisition or transfer of teaching or clinical skills; factors affecting recruitment of trainees and faculty; and general gaps and improvements to the HRH Program curricula. Increased institutional capacity for health professional education during the HRH Program included training a new cadre of health professionals and educators, expanding the skills of existing faculty, and building capacity within the University of Rwanda to continue to produce these professionals in the future.

Although the 2013 integration brought together students in the health professions, U.S. institution (USI) faculty reported that the university’s in-

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¹ In addition to the public University of Rwanda, three private institutions in Rwanda provide medical training.

frastructure was not initially set up to accommodate such large cohorts and that classrooms were unavailable for some classes. Although there were improvements in institutional capacity through the HRH Program, many of those challenges remain. Trainees and University of Rwanda faculty reported two key challenges—large student cohort sizes and insufficient equipment and infrastructure to practice on at the university and in teaching hospitals. The latter challenge is addressed in Chapter 6.

QUALITY OF TEACHING

HRH trainees, University of Rwanda faculty, and USI faculty respondents in this evaluation all concurred that the quality of teaching improved dramatically during the HRH Program, in terms of the teaching methodologies and the approaches. However, these improvements were reported solely in reference to USI faculty members.² HRH trainees did not report observed improvements in Rwandan faculty members’ teaching abilities or competencies, partly due to challenges in recruiting HRH faculty to participate in the twinning initiative, and partly owing to the lack of availability among existing faculty members at the University of Rwanda to teach HRH trainees. In the obstetrics and gynecology program, for example, there were reportedly only two Rwandan faculty members in the entire country when the HRH Program started, so by default, many of the students were trained only by USI faculty members.

USI Faculty Teaching Approaches and Methodologies

Successes

HRH trainees highlighted the improved teaching methodologies USI faculty brought to their studies, especially the importance of introducing the concepts of evidence-based medicine and an increased focus on research and publication. USI and University of Rwanda faculty reported didactic teaching as an important output of their HRH experiences:

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² As Chapter 4 notes, respondents consistently used the term “HRH faculty” to refer only to USI faculty.

HRH trainees also reported that the quality of teaching was linked to the instructors’ focus on building their capacity to be effective health educators—teaching skills on presentation, teaching methodologies, and management:

USI faculty, University of Rwanda faculty, and HRH trainees highlighted an important change in pedagogical approaches to teaching, based on questioning and iterative dialogue, with simulations and other methods, rather than the previous, more lecture-based instruction:

Some University of Rwanda faculty also reported a clear difference in the quality of teaching after the HRH Program. USI faculty and HRH trainees attributed this increase to USI faculty members’ holding HRH trainees to a “higher standard” in terms of what was expected in class and during rotations:

As further reported in Chapter 6, respondents from the Government of Rwanda made particular note of increased professionalism.

Hands-on training was another improvement all stakeholders mentioned as being a feature of the HRH Program. Government of Rwanda HRH Program administrators, students, and staff highlighted more practical, hands-on experience with patients because of the exposure to the high standards for quality of education USI faculty members implemented at the clinical teaching sites. HRH trainees and USI faculty also identified the value and importance of the more informal and interactive teaching approaches USI faculty employed, which treated HRH trainees as colleagues, rather than students. HRH trainees reported that USI faculty were more approachable than their previous Rwandan instructors, and appreciated having the time to sit with instructors, ask questions, and debrief after treating patients:

All respondents for this evaluation reported that training under the HRH Program increased motivation, confidence, and professionalism, which better prepared HRH trainees for their careers. Government of Rwanda respondents highlighted professionalism in particular as critical for enabling HRH trainees to succeed not only in Rwanda, but at a regional and global level:

HRH trainees highlighted that it was not only their new specializations that made them confident, but also the ability to think analytically:

At the facility level, particularly in the nursing program, some HRH trainees reported being better teachers and mentors to their colleagues. For example, in-service midwifery mentoring was introduced at Muhima Hospital in Kigali (Rwanda’s largest maternity specialty hospital) in August 2012, before expanding to Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali/University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), Byumba, Kabgayi, Masaka, Ramagana, Muhima, and some health centers (Ndayambaje et al., 2017). Mentors were experienced midwives with at least master’s degrees and were employed by USIs through the HRH Program. Their role was to support midwives through their Bachelor of Science in Nursing upgrade at the University of Rwanda, promote collaborative in-service training and individual bedside training activities, and increase exposure to theories and best practices:

Challenges

Alongside the overwhelming praise for USI teaching approaches, there was a recognition that USI faculty members’ effectiveness had been, at first, hindered by cultural and linguistic challenges. Before the HRH Program, Rwandan students had been taught in French, but French was not a requirement for USI faculty, and all HRH-supported programs were taught in English. HRH trainees reported that cultural differences exacerbated this issue in identifying when they were struggling. For example, trainees reported that most Rwandans who did not understand English would not admit that to the instructor during class, instead relying on their peers to translate outside of class. Not surprisingly, those who spoke English were reported to be some of the highest-performing trainees, and self-reported getting more out of their HRH training than classmates with weaker English skills. As this disparity became more apparent, the HRH Program adapted its requirements. HRH trainees who came out of the facility mi-

crosystem sample reported that English fluency became a requirement to participate in the HRH Program during its later years.³

In addition, a few USI faculty and HRH trainees mentioned USI faculty who had not been qualified or prepared to teach. For example, although the HRH Program had an important focus on research, not all USI faculty were qualified to support and teach research skills:

From the facility microsystem perspective, the quality of teaching varied by specialty. In surgery, one HRH trainee respondent did not feel the USI faculty had contributed to his education, although when speaking of teachers more broadly, he referred to them as “family” (57, University of Rwanda, Former Student in Surgery). In midwifery and nursing, the quality of classroom teaching was seen as very high, but there was a deficiency in the quality of supervision during clinical internships (58, University of Rwanda, Former Student in Nursing). Moreover, students who were also working full time did not gain access to as much practice time and felt “overloaded” (71, HRH Program–Trained A1 Nurse).

Quality of teaching also depended on the specialty. For example, the anesthesiology residency faced consistently low enrollment for its 20 residency spots (5 per year); no new residents entered in the 2013 to 2014 period and only two enrolled in 2014 to 2015 (Chan et al., 2016). One factor affecting recruitment to this specialty was lack of meaningful exposure to anesthesia training for medical students before graduation. Medical students were often trained in the same operating rooms as anesthesia technicians, but given the reality that most patients were seen by technicians, the focus was not dedicated to residents, who sought more specialized training and mentorship (Chan et al., 2016). Similar to surgery, medical students perceived anesthesiology to be more stressful than most specialties because of the long hours without the ability to supplement their base pay in the

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³ The facility microsystem in-depth examination looked at a teaching hospital and a lower-level hospital that referred to the teaching hospital. Both were located outside of Kigali.

private sector, as well as the lack of proper equipment, medicines, and supplies in their work environments (Chan et al., 2016).

Finally, HRH trainees reported that the quality of teaching declined when funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was cut. Trainees and faculty members attributed this decline to the fact there were fewer HRH faculty available to teach and not enough Rwandan faculty with the skills or time to take over. Although the HRH Program may have facilitated improved teaching skills while it was fully funded and running, the decline in teaching quality following a drop in investment indicates that the effect of the Program may have been a short-term injection of faculty.

RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS

Recruiting HRH Trainees to University of Rwanda Faculty

The University of Rwanda had mixed results in retention of Rwandan faculty, but showed early progress in recruiting those trained under the HRH Program. In 2019, the university revised its policies and procedures for hiring academic staff to lessen the requirements for promotion, emphasizing the importance of research, and quantifying student mentorship responsibilities (University of Rwanda, 2019). Published data report that between 2012 and 2016, 24 new Rwandan faculty members and 31 tutorial assistants were recruited by CMHS, and an additional 22 faculty members were recruited by the School of Nursing and Midwifery (Cancedda et al., 2018). Sixty graduates from the HRH Program who were employed by teaching hospitals in Kigali and Butare were issued contracts that devoted 20 percent of their time to mandatory teaching responsibilities (Cancedda et al., 2018). Primary data received from the University of Rwanda for this evaluation indicated that 54 faculty were generated in the Master of Hospital and Healthcare Administration (MHA) program between 2015 and 2018. The HRH Program also generated 10 School of Nursing and Midwifery faculty for the postgraduate program but none for the undergraduate program. USI and University of Rwanda faculty, program administrators, and students also reported in interviews that HRH trainees were starting to filter back into the university, in both faculty and administrative roles. This is also evident in this evaluation’s data collection; of the 22 HRH trainees interviewed, 8 are now University of Rwanda staff.

When interviewed, HRH trainees reported varied reasons for their interest in continuing with academia at University of Rwanda, rather than in clinics, as part of their Ministry of Health (MOH) bonding period. HRH trainees most frequently mentioned an interest in conducting additional

research and aspirations to continue knowledge exchange with their HRH professors. A few also mentioned that they were interested in becoming faculty members to supplement their low salaries as health care professionals in clinics and hospitals.

Current and former HRH trainees also reported significant challenges to continuing their careers in the health profession (in education and in clinical work). Reasons for not continuing their education included a lack of funding support from the MOH; low salary after graduation was also a deterrent. According to the University of Rwanda, in 2011–2012 the MOH provided tuition support for 35 percent of the total cost of either 4 years of medical school or 2 years of postgraduate training. This increased to 48 percent starting in 2013, because the total cost of tuition declined from 8,400,000 Rwandan francs to 6,400,000 Rwandan francs. For MHA students, the MOH offered 100 percent tuition support from 2013–2017 and no tuition support starting in the 2018 academic year. The MOH supported the entire first cohort (2015–2017) of Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) students (tuition cost 2,400,000 Rwandan francs). Subsequent cohorts were self-financed (an estimated 70 percent) or supported by individual hospitals, or were employees of the University of Rwanda.

Although few activities focused on recruiting and retaining students, nursing student dropout rates were low (1.43 percent in the undergraduate program; 3.53 percent in the postgraduate program). Tuition and travel costs to Kigali continued to be an obstacle to further education for many respondents working at CHUB and Bushenge hospitals (facility microsystem), including for respondents who had received training under the HRH Program:

Reportedly, the Minister of Health had recently announced that clinical staff could not work while pursuing further education, compounding the obstacles to gain more skills and knowledge.

Recruiting and Retaining Existing University of Rwanda Faculty

As reported in the HRH Program midterm review and confirmed in data collection for this evaluation, there was a recognition that not enough

attention had been paid to building current faculty to train future generations of health workers. The midterm review noted there were no formal planning exercises to facilitate the phasing out of USI faculty and ensure a permanent faculty pipeline for a sustainable health system as the program time lines evolved (MOH, 2016). With significant increases in overall enrollment across training programs, the production of health workers was not matched by a Rwandan faculty recruitment plan to sustain production (some programs like obstetrics and gynecology were at risk of falling below baseline enrollment with the departure of USI faculty).

One of the identified challenges was developing a career ladder with incentivizing pay structures for clinicians who train at teaching hospitals without faculty appointments. Health cadre subgroups were intended to review faculty terms of reference, and a key recommendation was for the University of Rwanda to start developing an attractive educator career ladder for all cadres (MOH, 2016). One Government of Rwanda HRH Program administrator (03) cited that career progression and pay structures were developed in 2013 to motivate and incentivize health professionals to be retained. The midterm review recommended that university heads of departments intentionally deploy graduates toward clinical and faculty positions, and identify the number of Rwandan faculty required to provide quality education to the growing student cohorts and graduates to be recruited as faculty. A possible scheme could give honorary or adjunct faculty appointments to clinicians during their 5-year public service contracts before promoting to full-time faculty roles (MOH, 2011b, 2016).

Faculty recruitment was a major issue; for example, the obstetrics and gynecology program had lost and had not recruited any additional Rwandan faculty since 2013, and the capacity to enroll first-year students was at risk of dipping below baseline to only three or four students per cohort without Academic Consortium faculty starting in 2017 (MOH, 2016).

Consortium faculty contributed to updating obstetrics and gynecology guidelines, hosting weekly interdisciplinary morbidity and mortality conferences, and introducing quality measures in 12 district and 4 teaching hospitals to standardize care and prevent maternal deaths (Hill et al., 2015). Long hours, lack of exposure to surgical faculty during medical school training, and heavier workload than nonsurgical physicians without higher pay also have been perceived as barriers to postgraduate recruitment. Furthermore, surgical jobs in the private sector are scarce, unlike for other specialties such as obstetrics and gynecology, where physician specialists can supplement their income by working after hours in private clinics in addition to their public hospital positions (Quinn et al., 2015). Despite political will apparent in the HRH Program investments to develop new surgical programs in neurosurgery, orthopedics, and urology, recruitment

of surgical postgraduates in year 2 of the HRH Program actually decreased from 19 trainees in the first year to 9 trainees (Quinn et al., 2015)

Since the midterm review, University of Rwanda and USI faculty reported the HRH Program had not been successful in increasing motivation and retention of existing University of Rwanda faculty. In fact, although all faculty acknowledged an increase in the number of doctors and nurses created through the Program, they did not see this translating into an increase in existing faculty. One HRH trainee suggested that faculty motivation was reduced owing to the frustrations with this program, to the point where he saw some going into private clinics or leaving the university system altogether:

The University of Rwanda has tried to retain faculty by offering accredited Ph.D. programs (see “Accreditation and Specialty Programs” in Chapter 5), which have shown early success and interest:

University of Rwanda faculty and many of its staff attributed some of these challenges to a lack of building institutional capacity into the HRH Program’s original design. Because the Program was designed for only 7

years, it did not allow enough time to train sufficient master’s students to become Ph.D. holders, who would be able to train, mentor, and support future generations of HRH trainees. Consequently, it had implications for recruitment and retention, as well as the long-term sustainability of benefits. In emergency medicine, for example, the first nine participants in the postgraduate diploma course in emergency and critical care medicine enrolled in 2013 (Mbanjumucyo et al., 2015). By 2017, the program was expected to graduate the first 5 emergency physicians, with more than 40 general practitioners completing the postgraduate course (Kabeza et al., 2013); 19 residents were still in the first 3 years of the 4-year program (Yi et al., 2017). The intention was to have enough Rwandan emergency physicians to begin phasing out Consortium emergency medicine faculty to take over training of both tiers by 2019. However, the time required to build a cadre of faculty was not aligned with the pace at which HRH trainees were graduating.

CURRICULA AND PROGRAMS FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Overall Curriculum Developments

Curricula for nursing and midwifery and medical training had developed over the years, with a shift to competency-based curricula and a mix of didactic teaching and more interactive activities becoming evident since the nursing and midwifery education reforms implemented in 2007 (Flinkenflögel et al., 2015c; Uwizeye et al., 2018). For example, flipped classroom models and team-based learning became frequent approaches (Uwizeye et al., 2018).⁴ Competency-based curricula were seen as tools to move away from a theoretical, hospital-based education to a more practical, patient-centered, and community-oriented education (Muraraneza and Mtshali, 2017). As part of the 2007–2008 curriculum review for undergraduate medical training, modular teaching was introduced in first-

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⁴ In a flipped classroom, students are first exposed to material outside of the classroom, through readings and assignments, and then process the material through discussion in the classroom, while building problem-solving skills (Berrett, 2012).

semester basic courses, such as math and study skills, as well as physiology, which was taught in parallel with anatomy, histology, embryology, and cell/molecular biology and biochemistry. The first semester of the second year included modules on microbiology, pathology, and organ systems (Gahutu, 2010).

In addition to increasing engagement with students, curriculum innovations aimed to increase flexibility and access to education for existing health workers. In particular, e-learning programs for nurses and midwives were designed to rapidly increase the number of qualified health workers without a significant increase in faculty (Harerimana et al., 2016). With sufficient technological infrastructure and institutional support, e-learning can help provide access to education in resource-constrained environments. In Rwanda, it has helped the existing nursing workforce upgrade from A2 to A1,⁵ increasing the number of qualified nurses in the workforce overall, although effective e-learning would require continuous capacity building and planning (Harerimana and Mtshali, 2018).

Successes in Curriculum Development

Development of curricula or strengthening of existing curricula was reported across all stakeholder groups, as well as specialties interviewed from USIs (pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, nursing and midwifery, internal medicine, the MHA, and surgery), who perceived this as a key success of their work:

Nursing and Midwifery Training

In 2004, the MOH deemed the quality of services delivered by A2 nurses insufficient and initiated plans to cease the A2 training level by 2007 (Mukamana et al., 2015). A0 level nursing, offered only at Kigali Health Institute, was introduced in 2006, with two tracks: a direct entry, 4-year

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⁵ A2 nurses have completed secondary school education, and A1 nurses receive a diploma after 3 years of training at a higher-education institute (Uwizeye et al., 2018).

Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, and a 2-year Bachelor of Nursing Education degree for nurses upgrading their A1 to A0 (MOH, 2011b; Mukamana et al., 2015). In 2007, the number of A1 nursing programs was reduced to five schools (Byumba, Kabgayi, Kibungo, Nyagatare, and Rwamagana) to focus on the quality of education, but this limited the capacity to admit approximately 100 A2 nurses per year (MOH, 2011b; Munyemana, 2012).

As part of these reforms, the A1 curriculum was revamped to be competency-based and mix didactic learning in the first year with clinical mentorship by year 3 (MOH, 2011a), placing a value on community-oriented training over hospital-based training (Muraraneza and Mtshali, 2017). The IntraHealth Capacity Project’s Learning for Performance: A Guide and Toolkit for Health Worker Education and Training Programs was used to strengthen the HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, family planning, and gender components of the nursing and midwifery curricula, as part of a 5-year (2004–2009) cooperative agreement (Capacity Project, 2009). In January 2007, the Capacity Project, Belgian Technical Corporation, APEFE,⁶ and Columbia University provided funding and operational support to the five nursing schools, including for classroom renovations, dormitories, office equipment, computers, Internet, training equipment, technical reference materials, library management training, and updated faculty and clinical preceptors (Capacity Project, 2007, 2009). Despite these efforts, a shortage of A1 nurses persisted and more than 90 percent of Rwandan nurses were still at the A2 level in 2012 (Harerimana et al., 2016).

The HRH Program supported the upgrading of nurses and midwives from A2 to A1 and the development of postgraduate master’s programs for eight nurse specialty tracks (alongside a review of the undergraduate physician training curricula and the launch of six new postgraduate residency programs, discussed later in this section). Development or improvement of curricula were reported across specialties and stakeholders as a main success and contributor of the HRH Program, but one that was dependent on the specialty and department within the University of Rwanda:

The HRH Program built on previous nursing training reforms to dramatically increase the nursing and midwifery workforce through the E-Learning Diploma Nursing program, established in 2012, to upgrade A2

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⁶ Association pour la Promotion de l’Éducation et de la Formation à l’Etranger.

nurses to A1 levels, targeted to upgrade 1,500 nurses and midwives by 2020 (Uwizeye et al., 2018). Administered through the University of Rwanda’s Center for Instructional Technology, this competency-based curriculum alternated between face-to-face sessions and self-directed learning. Uwizeye and colleagues (2018) reported that the Government of Rwanda viewed this curriculum as a prime example of adapting to the learning needs of existing health workers who needed to advance their training without leaving their jobs and disrupting the functioning of health centers and hospitals:

In a study assessing the satisfaction levels of full-time undergraduate nursing students in years 2–4 at the University of Rwanda during the 2016–2017 academic year, a majority of students reported high satisfaction with the clinical learning environment (58 percent), the ward atmosphere (54 percent), the leadership of the ward manager (58 percent), and the supervisory relationship (62 percent). However, at every class level and clinical placement, there was need for individual student supervision and improvement to the supervisory relationship (Musabyimana et al., 2019).

No postgraduate programs in nursing and midwifery were available before the HRH Program started. USI faculty collaborated with University of Rwanda faculty to develop curricula for eight master’s-level nursing specialty tracks in pediatrics, critical care and trauma, nephrology, medical–surgical, neonatal, oncology, perioperative, and education leadership and management. Development of these specialty nursing curricula was cited as a significant contribution of the HRH Program:

The MOH reported that the support of USI faculty also helped develop nursing clinical guidelines for prenatal, newborn, and postpartum history

and physicals, as well as a pre-op checklist, which were implemented in 2013 (MOH, 2016). This is consistent with reports from HRH trainees and University of Rwanda faculty, who noted that updates to curricula and national protocols were conducted with the support of USI faculty. Furthermore, evidence-based practice guidelines were integrated into the didactic teaching curriculum, which emphasized the role of the nurse in implementation of best practices (Relf et al., 2015).

Academic Consortium faculty collaborated with Rwandan faculty to develop curricula for the eight master’s-level nursing specialty tracks described above; these areas were selected by the MOH based on morbidity and mortality rates and health needs in Rwanda (Uwizeye et al., 2018). In addition, a “mini-consortium” (the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the American Nephrology Nurses’ Association, the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, the Oncology Nursing Society, and the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses) supported the MSN program with membership donations and educational materials, such as core curriculum textbooks for the specialty tracks (Mukamana et al., 2016a,b,c).

Graduate nursing students described learning concepts of global health, research design and biostatistics, leadership and management, nursing theory, and pathophysiology and clinical management before applying their knowledge in a two-part focused clinical, starting in the second semester (Mukamana et al., 2016a). Practicums took place at CHUK, King Faisal Hospital, and Rwanda Military Hospital where, despite reported challenges with limited resources and suboptimal equipment (see also “Equipment Procurement” in Chapter 6), trainees noted benefits from the clinical training and from the experience of mentoring other hospital nurses (Ryamukuru et al., 2018). One emphasis of the MSN program was on molding nursing graduates into “change agents” who could drive policies and develop solutions in the Rwandan health care system (Mukamana et al., 2016b).

Primary data from the University of Rwanda indicate that 82 students graduated from the MSN program. According to one respondent, because the initial focus in nursing was on upgrading A2 nurses to A1 nurses, the

MSN program started “3 years late” (46), which was a barrier to recruiting and graduating even more nurses. The University of Rwanda reported low dropout rates among students in the undergraduate nursing program (1.43 percent), with only slightly higher dropout rates in postgraduate programs (3.53 percent).

Even though A1 nurses were trained to provide high-quality services, many Rwandans were seen as still preferring to receive care from doctors:

The e-learning mechanism offered an opportunity for A2 nurses to upgrade their skills to A1 while continuing to work as A2 nurses. However, one nursing respondent expressed that the quality of students graduating from the A1 programs had declined, due to less emphasis on supervision and follow-up during internships:

Physician Training

Under the HRH Program, six new postgraduate residency programs in emergency medicine, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, pathology, psychiatry, and urology were launched in the CMHS School of Medicine and Pharmacy in 2013. The HRH Program funding proposal had planned to launch eight residencies, including family and community medicine, oncology, neurology, and radiology. However, investments to strengthen internal medicine and general surgery programs were prioritized over family and community medicine, oncology, and neurology before the start of the HRH Program, and the launch of the radiology program was delayed for 2016 (Cancedda et al., 2018; MOH, 2016).

For internal medicine, the HRH Program aimed to improve the integration of didactic modules with clinical rotations through bedside teaching that correlated with competency-based didactic content. The residency program included the establishment of a medical chief resident position to improve the educational and administrative structure (Kabakambira et al., 2017; Walker et al., 2017). Kabakambira and colleagues reported an overall improvement in the collaborative training program, where 73.7 percent of residents perceived the medical chief residents as their role model, with first-year residents (100 percent) being the most enthusiastic about this statement (Kabakambira et al., 2017).

For surgery and anesthesia, curricula aimed to embed more interactive, hands-on sessions, and dedicated consultant–student interaction in operating rooms (Chan et al., 2016). Gaps in this training curriculum for surgery were identified to inform its development by evaluating the operative activity (Rickard et al., 2016). The pediatrics specialty centered on a 2-year didactic core program that included hospital-based learning through morning reports, bedside teaching rounds, simulations and practical skills sessions, morbidity and mortality meetings, research training, and leadership development workshops (McCall et al., 2019). Representatives from professional associations cited that USI faculty were critical in developing clinical content for the curricula, as well as instilling a teaching ethic. In the “other” stakeholder group interviewed for this evaluation, although most may have not had direct involvement with the development of curricula, a select sample were aware that the HRH Program did improve or strengthen curricula.

In addition to the strong emphasis on supporting postgraduate medical education, the curricula for undergraduate medical training was reviewed and several reforms enacted during the HRH Program (Flinkenflögel et al., 2015a). The curriculum was reduced from 6 years to 5 and adapted the CanMEDS physician competency framework to describe core competencies for the “desired Rwandan medical health care provider” (Flinkenflögel et

al., 2015a). Additionally, a new integrated Social and Community Medicine curriculum under the Discipline of Primary Health Care (formerly the family and community medicine department at the College of Medicine and Pharmacy) was structured to cover five domains: public health, health systems, social medicine, communication, and professionalism in years 1–4, culminating in a senior internship in year 5 that would use the primary health care knowledge and skills trainees had gained in previous years (Flinkenflögel et al., 2015a). The curriculum incorporated team-based learning, a flipped classroom model, and online learning platforms (Flinkenflögel et al., 2015b). The design was based on the premise that continued exposure to social medicine concepts would help students gain greater appreciation in their practice, particularly in serving rural populations (Flinkenflögel et al., 2015a; Stevens et al., 2015).

Health Administration and Public Health

Under the HRH Program, the MHA was launched in 2013 in the University of Rwanda School of Public Health after 3 years of curriculum development with Yale University (MOH, 2011b, 2016).⁷ With the decentralization of health to the district level, health managers trained in public health or management were deemed essential to a functional health facility. The 2-year executive program targeted professionals who were already performing facility management and administration functions in the health system, and focused on increasing the number of trained hospital managers, ensuring equitable distribution of managers, and strengthening institutional capacity to sustain the MHA program locally (MOH, 2016). The curriculum included didactic blocks and hospital rotations, in which students participated in and designed hospital-based or quality improvement projects (MOH, 2016). Program administrators and faculty reported that the curriculum had been adapted from a similar MHA program in Ethiopia, also developed by Yale University (MOH, 2011a,b). USI respondents included the MHA program in their reports, across all specialties, that development or strengthening of curricula was a marked success of the HRH Program. By 2015, 52 trained managers had resulted from the first graduated cohort of the MHA program (MOH, 2016). A Senior Leadership Program also trained 30 senior hospital leaders in 2013.

The MHA program was initially housed in the School of Public Health, but it was shifted to the School of Health Sciences, formerly the Kigali Health Institute. The Vice Chancellor of the University decided to relocate the program because the School of Health Sciences “has this experience working with hospitals … the School of Public Health was not really experienced

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⁷ Yale University originally helped develop a Certificate of International Health Management curriculum, but the MOH deprioritized it prior to the HRH Program (MOH, 2016).

with working with hospitals in terms of training and supervision of student trainees in the hospitals” (50, University of Rwanda Administrator in Public Health). The faculty delivering the courses did not change after the program moved, and the School of Health Sciences had no experience with administering a master’s-level program, raising questions among some University of Rwanda respondents about the effectiveness of the move. The change in Minister of Health and the resulting perceived shift in priorities were also seen as contributing to changes in the MHA program’s effectiveness:

An international nongovernmental organization (NGO) respondent felt that additional investments were needed to build a cadre of effective health managers “to manage our health systems better and to have more functional health system and more motivated workers [which] could have really had more transformation across the country” (12, International NGO Representative). However, respondents expressed that the MHA program graduates did effect change in hospital administration, financial management at the hospital level, and quality:

Other initiatives were concurrently being implemented. For example, as of 2017, a Master in Health Supply Chain Management was offered through the East African Community Regional Centre of Excellence for Vaccines, Immunization, and Health Supply Chain Management (RCE-VIHSCM, 2019). The 2-year blended learning program employs face-to-face teaching, distance learning, and multiple field placements for its target cohort of health and supply managers across the East African Community partner countries (RCE-VIHSCM, 2018, 2019). Similarly, building on their existing partnerships, in February 2012 Partners in Health, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham & Women’s Hospital with the MOH launched the first Global Health Delivery course for health professionals in Rwanda, bringing

Harvard Medical School faculty to Rwanda (Cancedda et al., 2014). The course was delivered twice per year in the village of Rwinkwavu, and six local students were trained in the first course to become faculty members for future offerings of this field course (Novak, 2012).

In 2015, the HRH Program also launched the Master in Global Health Delivery program. This 2-year, part-time curriculum emphasized global health policy, management, public health research, health finance, and leadership, and enrolled a first cohort of 27 students from varied disciplines (such as veterinary medicine, agriculture, and NGO management) (MOH, 2016). Partners in Health subsequently established the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in 2015 as a private institution to deliver community-centered health care and facilitate retention of qualified health professionals oriented toward serving rural populations (Binagwaho, 2017; UGHE, 2017). The first cohort of 24 students graduated in 2017; the university expected to enroll its first cohort of medical students in its 6.5-year dual degree program in July 2019, with the Master in Global Health Delivery degree woven into its medical training (UGHE, 2017). Although this view was not widely expressed, one USI faculty respondent involved in the design and accreditation of the Master in Global Health Delivery program commented that the UGHE “stole the curriculum from the University of Rwanda and have been running it ever since. The University of Rwanda was left with nothing” (24, USI Twinned Faculty in Internal Medicine and Public Health).

The committee performed comparison analysis, drawing on Program documents, published literature on the Program, and interview data, to examine why the MSN program had achieved greater success and sustainability than the MHA program (see Table 5-1). Both programs were developed under the HRH Program, building on similar programs elsewhere. For example, the MHA program was reportedly based on a similar curriculum in Ethiopia. The quality of the USI faculty and the interest among Rwanda faculty to teach in the MSN program was greater than in the MHA program. Both programs faced challenges with sustainability, and more time is needed to evaluate how these programs will be sustained.

Challenges in Curriculum Support

Despite notable achievements with the curricula for various health professional education programs, USI faculty reported that those who were recruited as USI faculty often did not have experience in curricula development or that if curricula were developed, they were not formally approved. Meanwhile, an HRH trainee reported the need for more revisions to existing curricula.

TABLE 5-1 Comparative Analysis of MHA and MSN Programs

NOTE: CHUK = Centre Hospitalaire de Kigali/The University Teaching Hospital of Kigali; HRH = human resources for health; MHA = Master of Hospital and Healthcare Administration; MOH = Ministry of Health; MSN = Master of Science in Nursing; SPH = School of Public Health; USI = U.S. institution.

For the MHA program, the curriculum that was developed underwent a lengthy process for approval and was reportedly copied, as noted in the previous section.

Indeed, use of the HRH Program–supported curricula seemingly expanded beyond the University of Rwanda and the HRH Program to UGHE, other established schools of medicine or health professional education institutions, and the East African Community for accreditation. One USI faculty member reported taking the curriculum they had developed with them to a similar program in another country in the region. As described previously, this expansion had mixed reviews from evaluation respondents.

Although it took time for different institutions and the East African Community to develop, adapt, and approve curricula, evaluations of the curricula were very positive:

ACCREDITATION AND SPECIALTY PROGRAMS

Alongside assessment of academic curricula, accreditation processes and standards were also widely discussed in the region. Mullan and colleagues state that in a survey of 146 medical schools, there was “little use

of external accreditation” and that “various levels of accreditation and certification were noted in the countries visited” (Mullan et al., 2011). WHO (2013) indicates that

However, it should be noted that “there is only weak evidence of a causal link between accreditation and higher quality” (WHO, 2013).

Respondents in this evaluation highlighted improved institutional capacity within the University of Rwanda due to the HRH Program with regard to accreditation at the university level and advances in each specialty program. One University of Rwanda faculty member attributed the university’s most recent accreditation by the East African Accreditation Board partly to the HRH Program and suggested that improvements in the quality of education were linked with this accreditation:

However, East African Accreditation Board accreditation could not be verified. All residencies across all disciplines were university-based, and graduates received a Master in Medicine (M.Med.) from the Ministry of Education (MOE). All HRH programs were approved by the University of Rwanda Senate, Higher Education Council, under the MOE. However, different specialties also reported varying additional approvals. The nursing program was also approved by the Nursing Council for Nurses and Midwives.⁸ Surgeons looked to a separate, nonuniversity body, the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA), and University of Rwanda surgical graduates were encouraged to sit for the COSECSA exams to become fellows—FCS(ECSA).

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⁸ Levels A2 and A1 were both approved by the MOE, but A2 no longer exists.

In 2014, the Rwanda Emergency Care Association was established as the first interdisciplinary organization bringing together emergency medicine physicians, residents, emergency nurses, and prehospital providers in Rwanda, as a result of introducing the postgraduate diploma in emergency medicine that evolved into the Emergency M.Med. (MOH, 2016; RECA, 2019). The launch of the Emergency M.Med. program also led to the development of the Emergency Medicine Clinical Guidelines in 2016 to standardize care at district and referral hospitals, the introduction of the first formal emergency triage system in Rwanda’s public health system, and restructuring of the CHUK Emergency Department (MOH, 2016). HRH Program-purchased equipment specific to emergency medicine, such as resuscitation equipment and portable x-ray machines at CHUK, was anticipated to facilitate a high-quality training environment for the new residents (MOH, 2011b).

RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Data from this evaluation show that the HRH Program also increased HRH trainees’ research outputs, professional development opportunities, and overall preparation and motivation as they entered the health workforce.

Support for Research Outputs

The 2011 HRH Program proposal stated that “research undertaken related to the HRH Program by U.S. faculty must be co-authored with Rwandan researchers and must adhere to the conditions established by the Rwandan Authorities” (MOH, 2011b). According to an evaluation of a partnership program between the University of Rwanda and Swedish universities, which was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Rwanda’s research output has grown by an average of 26 percent annually since the early 2000s, with medical research constituting almost half of the country’s more recent output (Tvedten et al., 2018). U.S. universities and medical institutions “dominate” the list of affiliated international partner institutions for research articles with Rwandan authors and co-authors published between 2013 and 2017 (Tvedten et al., 2018). Although this Sida-funded evaluation credited the HRH Program as a driving factor in these research partnerships, two of these institutions were not involved in the Program and two had multiple longstanding relationships with the MOH and other Rwandan institutions that predated the HRH Program; it is more likely that the Program was one among many factors supporting Rwanda’s increased research output during this period (Tvedten et al., 2018).

A more recent review of the literature, concurrent with the timing of the HRH Program, notes similar findings with respect to overall Rwandan re-

search output. A Scopus review of published primary literature,⁹ performed as part of this evaluation, found 1,626 articles in the fields of medicine and health professions, nursing, public administration, public health, social sciences, and life sciences published between 2012 and 2018 by authors affiliated with Rwandan institutions.¹⁰ Moreover, annual research output among Rwandan-affiliated authors grew at an average of 20 percent per year, nearly tripling during this period (from 117 articles in 2012 to 334 in 2018). Of the total research output for Rwandan-affiliated authors, nearly half (782) of all publications were in the fields of medicine and health professions, and 320 publications focused on HIV. Rwandan-affiliated authors produced on average 46 HIV-focused publications annually during this period.

Average annual growth in HIV-focused publications was slightly negative, however, with 2015 as the year of peak output. Further analysis indicated that for more than one-third of these HIV articles, a Rwandan-affiliated author was listed as the first author; moreover, among these first authors, fully 40 percent were serving as lead author for the first time. Across all 320 HIV-focused publications with Rwandan-affiliated authorship, 14 percent had a lead Rwandan-affiliated author serving in this role for the first time. Although this increased research output cannot be attributed to the HRH Program, it is likely that the Program was one of multiple contributing initiatives.

Metrics such as “first author” and “first-time first author” are important to consider, because much of the research in Rwanda is both funded by foreign donors from higher-income countries and conducted in partnership with academic and other institutions from these countries. The literature indicates that such partnerships “are often imbalanced,” fostering the “careers and priorities” of Western researchers over those of their African collaborators (Boum et al., 2018). A higher proportion of Rwandan first authors and first-time first authors may indicate a more equitable partnership. This is desirable, as more equal and “truly cooperative” (Costello and Zumla, 2000) research partnerships are more likely to foster the development of academic infrastructure within the country and result in the translation of research into practice and national policy (Boum et al., 2018; Costello and Zumla, 2000).

Across all respondents for this evaluation, one of the main reported outcomes of the HRH Program was the development of HRH trainees’ skills and competencies in research, grant writing, and publication. A focus on research

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⁹ Primary literature is defined as literature that excludes the Scopus-defined categories of “editorials,” “notes,” and “letters.”

¹⁰ Authors affiliated with Rwandan institutions, also referred to as Rwandan-affiliated authors, indicate authors who are listed in a publication as being affiliated with an institution that is based in Rwanda.

was emphasized in some curricula, such as the MHA program and pediatrics specialty, whose graduation requirements included a built-in requirement to integrate research and write a thesis. HRH trainees from the facility microsystem reported that increased research collaboration with USI faculty increased their understanding of data, statistics, and evidence-based practices:

Respondents reported that research collaborations, publications and mentorship with HRH trainees continued after USI faculty left Rwanda (see Chapter 4 for details, in the context of the HRH Program’s twinning activities). Many HRH trainees are now pursuing their Ph.D.s, and have contributed their research knowledge to the HRH Program.

USI faculty continued collaborating with students they had advised after their departure from Rwanda, predominantly in supporting students to complete their theses and prepare and submit publications.

Other support for research outputs included a 6-month scholarly writing workshop, designed and implemented by the HRH Program from January to July 2015 with funds from the Wellcome Trust, to help University of Rwanda faculty learn the process and strategies for preparing manuscripts for publication and other research activities (Ewing et al., 2017). Participants of the writing workshop met every 2 weeks and were offered mentorship and supportive feedback, with the goal of producing a research-related output by the end of the workshop. Although low post-test responses and a high workshop attrition rate led to no significant conclusions, Ewing and colleagues report a high level of overall satisfaction with the workshop; 77 percent also self-reported they had developed an abstract or draft manuscript during the workshop, 69 percent planned to publish in the next year, and 85 percent noted they planned to deliver a presentation at a conference within the next year (Ewing et al., 2017).

Increased research also led to increased opportunities to present research at regional and international conferences. A few USI faculty reported supporting HRH trainees and twins to present at a conference, with additional funding raised outside of the HRH Program. Across respondents, there were multiple examples of HRH trainees speaking and attending international conferences in the United States, the United Kingdom, and regionally.

A few HRH trainees reported an increase in research on HIV. One pediatric HRH trainee presented HIV research on antiretroviral therapy adherence at an international conference. However, according to the Scopus review of published primary literature, the number of HIV-related primary publications by authors affiliated with Rwandan institutions rose from 45 in 2012, peaked at 57 in 2015, then dropped each subsequent year to 40 publications in 2018.

Support for Continuing Professional Development

Professional councils have supported continuing professional development (CPD) across cadres in Rwanda for a decade. In February 2009, the Rwanda Medical and Dental Council established a CPD program. The National Council for Nurses and Midwives followed with its own CPD strategic plan in June 2013. Subsequently, four professional councils (Rwanda Medical and Dental Council, National Council for Nurses and Midwives, National Pharmacy Council, and Rwanda Allied Health Professionals Council) established a joint CPD policy, requiring health professionals to continually update their skills and knowledge as a condition of licensure (Health Professional Councils of Rwanda, 2013). International NGOs also reported working to strengthen professional councils and associations:

Each profession has a minimum number of credits required every 3 years (see Table 5-2). Being the first author on a scientific paper or article in a peer-reviewed journal is worth 20 credits (Health Professional Councils of Rwanda, 2013).

TABLE 5-2 Required CPD Credits by Profession

NOTE: CPD = continuing professional development.

SOURCE: Health Professional Councils of Rwanda, 2013.

HRH trainees from the facility microsystem and the University of Rwanda reported CPD activities hosted by the MOH, Rwanda Biomedical Center, and professional associations as critical to their development. At the facility level, HRH trainees reported that the MOH deployed 2-day to 3-day CPD training courses on topics including tuberculosis, malaria, and hepatitis. Professional associations played an important role in setting the policy on CPD as well as delivering the courses. One respondent reported a new five-module certificate course for midwives, which trainees could present to the National Council for Nurses and Midwives for renewal of their license. One respondent speculated that CPD activities motivated local health staff to further pursue training in subspecialties as they witnessed HRH staff pursuing such opportunities (28, University of Rwanda Administrator and Former Student in Obstetrics and Gynecology).

Aside from formal CPD activities, respondents spoke of more informal ways the HRH Program advanced their careers. For example, one respondent who had formerly worked with the MOH as part of the HRH Program attributed her exposure to health care improvement through the Program as something she carried to her community-level work with people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Many HRH trainees were fast-tracked to higher positions following their training, not only as faculty and deans of departments at the Uni-

versity of Rwanda, but also at the facility level. One respondent discussed being promoted to head of her department after HRH training, and another spoke of moving from being a nurse to head of department:

Another nurse respondent reported not feeling well prepared to provide clinical services immediately following her pre-service education, but that working alongside doctors following her placement had allowed her to learn practical applications of her knowledge. Another respondent highlighted that some HRH Program colleagues had continued to advance their education outside of the health system and outside of Rwanda:

As many graduates under the Program were still bound by the bonding period,¹¹ and other cohorts were still in their studies at the time of this evaluation, the movement of HRH Program trainees could not be assessed. It will be important to monitor the flow of HRH Program trainees over time to determine any resulting brain drain. Chapter 6 expands on student and faculty advancements.

CONCLUSIONS

In reexaming health professional education, a 2010 Lancet commission identified a series of instructional and institutional reforms for postsecondary education in medicine, nursing, and public health to be not only responsive to local needs, but also connected globally and extended beyond the silos of individual health professions. These reforms provided a set of

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¹¹ Students who received tuition support from the MOH were bonded, or required to serve for a certain number of years depending on cadre and specialty, in the public health system before being able to pursue employment opportunities outside of the public sector.

components to transform education and strengthen country health systems, most of which the HRH Program addressed in some capacity. Examples in instructional reforms include

• adapting to local contexts “while using global knowledge, experience, and shared resources, including faculty, curriculum, didactic materials, and students linked internationally through exchange programs”;
• strengthening educational resources such as faculty, syllabuses, didactic materials, and infrastructure;
• promoting “—interprofessional and transprofessional education that breaks down professional silos while enhancing collaborative and non-hierarchical relationships in effective teams”; and
• using “the power of information technology for learning” (Frenk et al., 2010).

Examples in institutional reforms include

• establishing joint planning mechanisms “—to engage key stakeholders, especially ministries of education and health, professional associations, and the academic community, to overcome fragmentation by assessment of national conditions, setting priorities, shaping policies, tracking change, and harmonizing the supply of and demand for health professionals to meet the health needs of the population;” and
• “[l]inking together through networks, alliances, and consortia between educational institutions worldwide and across to allied actors, such as governments, civil society organisations, business, and media” (Frenk et al., 2010).

At the outset of the HRH Program, there was an underestimation of the degree of structural change within the University of Rwanda, and across sectors, that was needed for institutionalized capacity for health professional education and that would occur as a consequence of the HRH Program. The perception of its success was first in training health workers, second in augmenting service delivery, and third in building the University of Rwanda faculty capacity in teaching. The institutional reform of greater joint planning among ministries was an outcome that emerged over time. Beyond the relationships with USIs, expanding linkages with regional and global networks was not an emphasis of the Program. Literature on the HRH Program since 2015 has documented processes and outputs primarily in the following domains: trainees’ perceptions of HRH Program curricula or activities; measurements of knowl-

edge acquisition or teaching and clinical skills transfer among HRH trainees; factors affecting recruitment of trainees and faculty; and general gaps and improvements to the HRH Program curricula.

Development of University of Rwanda faculty capacity occurred through a number of activities, including mentoring and twinning, as discussed in Chapter 4. In a faculty development program for medical education in the East African region, implementation of varied activities (including faculty development workshops, visiting professor programs, mentorship exchange visits, advanced leadership training, and curriculum development) provided positive developments in strengthening health professional education at the college as faculty enhanced their expertise and skills (Matsika et al., 2018). Bringing in external faculty and other experts via memoranda of understanding with USIs added value to the quality of health professional education and training, as determined by the development of new programs and curricula or the updating of existing curricula, increased research output, and the provision of high-quality teaching by USI faculty. As illustrated by some of the instructional reforms above (Frenk et al., 2010), this was a key in strengthening and developing the capacity of health professional education. Exposure to the twinning model, USI faculty, and teaching quality also had a positive impact on Rwandan faculty and students, providing a mechanism for those trained to take on leadership roles in providing quality of care and to train the next generation of health professionals in Rwanda; this resonates with the notion that twinning is a values-based methodology (Kelly et al., 2015).

Although there were successes in producing an increased number of health workers across cadres and specialties, the story is less clear in the production and retention of University of Rwanda faculty to educate future cohorts of students. Theoretical frameworks addressing worker turnover and retention point to the idea that for faculty, structural factors within an academic institution (e.g., “collegial communication, equitable rewards, work autonomy, job security, and a role in organizational decision making”) may influence retention (Ngure and Waiganjo, 2017). Faculty members who perceive the institution as meeting their expectations in these areas may be more likely to “report higher levels of job satisfaction and stronger commitment to the employing organization,” thereby “strengthening the[ir] intent to stay” in their position (Ngure and Waiganjo, 2017). In contrast, for faculty with unmet expectations in these areas, “levels of satisfaction and commitment decline and intent to leave increases” (Ngure and Waiganjo, 2017). Thus, faculty perceptions surrounding these structural factors may affect “psychological dispositions toward staying or leaving the institution” (Ngure and Waiganjo, 2017). This evaluation’s proximity to the end of PEPFAR’s investments make it difficult to say conclusively that additional faculty have been produced or

retained; however, the qualitative data do point to organizational limitations at the University of Rwanda level that could hinder faculty retention, including career progressions and compensation.

In addition to the value added to the quality of health professional education via new and upgraded education programs and curricula, research output continued to increase. Research capacity was highlighted as a key priority in the original proposal, although there was no clear funding mechanism or pathway. Given the number of strong institutional research collaborations that predated the HRH Program (such as the University of Rwanda–Sweden program, which provided research grants and funded doctoral students, and Harvard University and its affiliate institutions, which had longstanding partnerships with Partners In Health and the MOH), the HRH Program was likely one of many efforts contributing to a steadily growing body of research output during this period. For HRH trainees, the Program specifically increased their research outputs, professional development opportunities, and overall preparation and motivation as they entered the health workforce, although a cross-sectional descriptive study of interns and pediatric residents at the University of Rwanda identified “barriers to research such as faculty lacking time to mentor, lack of funding, lack of statistical support, and lack of faculty experienced in conducting research” (Habineza et al., 2019). As a successful example, the institutional and long-term partnership between Makerere University in Uganda and Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which started in 2000, successfully bolstered research capacity and collaboration. While that program’s focus was on a joint Ph.D. program, students spent a majority of their time in Uganda to ensure research remained focused on local issues, with the remainder spent in Sweden, where they enrolled in specialty courses. The productive nature of this collaboration and focus had positive implications in terms of publications, increasing research output with a majority of Ugandan first or last authors (Sewankambo et al., 2015).

Improvements in the accreditation of programs developed or improved under the HRH Program were uneven (Rogo, 2019). Accreditation standards differed by specialty, with varying levels of subsequent approval, such as those for the nursing program or the surgery specialty, for which additional approvals were required by a Council or separate, nonuniversity bodies. Although the University of Rwanda’s medical, dentistry, and pharmacy programs were noted as participating in the regional East African Community accreditation process, their regional accreditation status could not be independently verified (Yumbya, 2019). In the East African Community, under a common supranational inspectorate framework, programs currently undergo two layers of accreditation, first

at the national level and then at the regional level. At this regional level, there is a harmonization of curricula and a formal joint inspection by regulators representing the six countries in the East African Community (Rogo, 2019).

Although experiences with twinning were positive, as described in Chapter 4, the HRH Program’s individual twinning approach, as opposed to institutional twinning, resulted in limited improvements in institutional capacity for health professional education. During the period of PEPFAR’s investment, the HRH Program did not place adequate emphasis on building and retaining faculty, and insufficient time was dedicated to building a cohort with terminal degrees to fill gaps in faculty following the reduction in numbers of USI faculty. The result was new programs and curricula, but without sufficient University of Rwanda faculty to deliver the courses. There was an initial pipeline of trainees feeding back into the education and training systems as faculty and administrative leaders, but retention strategies for current and new faculty were an underdeveloped aspect of the HRH Program’s portfolio of activities. Following the end of PEPFAR investments, the University of Rwanda did not have sufficient resources to provide the same volume of high-quality postgraduate teaching; this manifested in large class sizes, insufficient infrastructure, and low salaries that challenged retention (see Chapter 6 for more information on how salaries affect retention). However, the improved relationship and communication between the MOH and the MOE, as well as with professional associations and professional councils, as a result of the HRH Program could provide momentum to continue building institutional capacity.

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