The update was shared on February 8, 2026, during events held at the hospital to mark the International Day of the Sick, where staff and stakeholders reflected on ways to further improve patient care.
CHUB’s Acting Director General, Dr. Christian Ngarambe, said the hospital has acquired a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine used to diagnose internal health conditions.
He added that the hospital has also strengthened its cancer care services by introducing new diagnostic equipment, which is expected to significantly reduce referrals to Butaro Hospital in Burera District for cancer-related examinations.
“To ease access for patients, services such as CT scanning, cancer diagnostics, and other procedures that previously required referrals to distant hospitals are now available closer to them. We thank our leadership for this milestone, which will improve the quality of care we provide,” he said.
Dr. Ngarambe noted that patient transfers to Kigali will drop significantly, as more than 75 percent of those previously referred outside CHUB were seeking MRI examinations. “We expect these journeys to decrease considerably, which is a positive development for patients,” he added.
Alphonse Nzabihimana from Nyamagabe District shared that he had suffered from an intestinal condition that had persisted since 2022 despite treatment.
After being examined using the newly installed equipment at CHUB, doctors identified the illness and treated him without surgery. He is now preparing to return home without needing treatment far from his district.
“We appreciate the Government of Rwanda for improving our lives and investing in technology. In the past, patients like us had to travel abroad or to Kigali for treatment, which was very difficult. Now advanced healthcare services are available in our Southern Province,” he said.
Eugénie Niyitegeka, a mother from Ruhango District receiving treatment at CHUB after being referred from Kinazi Hospital for an abdominal tumor, expressed similar gratitude. She said patients previously feared being referred to Kigali, far from their families and in unfamiliar surroundings, but now receive care closer to home at a lower cost.
“There is now a machine that scans the entire body. Even someone like me with limited means was examined with it, and doctors clearly identified my condition. There is no illness they fail to handle here at CHUB anymore. It is truly valuable,” she said.
The equipment, valued at over Rwf 12 billion, is expected to significantly enhance specialized healthcare services at CHUB, which serves more than four million residents across the Southern Province and much of the Western Province. The hospital receives at least 40,000 patients each month.
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