According to a statement shared by the Office of the President, the guests included philanthropists Bill and Joyce Cummings; Didi Bertrand Farmer; Ophelia Dahl, Founder of Partners In Health; UGHE Chancellor Dr. Jim Yong Kim; and UGHE Vice Chancellor Prof. Philip Cotton.
During the dinner, President Kagame and the First Lady discussed UGHE’s impactful contribution to Rwanda’s education sector, particularly through high-quality training for the next generation of global health leaders.
The engagement came a day after UGHE marked a historic milestone at its Butaro campus in Burera District, where the university celebrated a decade of operations and graduated its first cohort of medical doctors in Rwanda.
At the graduation ceremony, UGHE awarded an Honorary Doctorate to First Lady Jeannette Kagame in recognition of her outstanding leadership and contributions to education, health, and equity in Rwanda, across Africa, and beyond.
The ceremony saw 30 medical doctors and 48 Master of Science in Global Health Delivery (MGHD) graduates receive their degrees. It was presided over by Prime Minister Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva and attended by senior government officials, development partners, faculty, students, and alumni.
Conferring the honorary degree, UGHE Chancellor Dr. Jim Yong Kim described the First Lady as “an accomplished leader whose work spans education, health, and social transformation.”
He highlighted her contributions through initiatives such as the Imbuto Foundation, which promotes girls’ education, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS prevention, as well as her leadership in the Organization of African First Ladies for Development and the Unity Club, which advances national reconciliation.
“Her moral guidance, presence, and advocacy have strengthened UGHE’s growth, credibility, and visibility across Africa and the world,” Dr. Kim said, as he conferred upon her the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, in recognition of her exceptional leadership and distinguished public service.
Receiving the honour, First Lady Jeannette Kagame expressed gratitude and reflected on the legacy of the late Dr. Paul Farmer, UGHE’s founding chancellor.
“To be honoured in this way is a gift for which I can only find a few words,” she said. “To be watched from heaven by a dear friend as we celebrate those who have sought to honour his legacy through their own excellence. What a milestone.”
She noted that for many years, solutions to health challenges were often viewed as something that had to come from outside the continent. “Today we affirm a different truth,” she said. “Pain, disease, and avoidable death are not our destiny, and neither are we bound to wait for answers to arrive from afar.”
Addressing the graduates, the First Lady challenged them to see themselves as agents of transformation. “Your greatness is a revolution in the making,” she said, urging them to contribute to resilient health systems and meaningful change in global health.
In his remarks, Prime Minister Nsengiyumva underscored the critical role UGHE graduates will play amid growing pressures on health systems in Rwanda and globally, including emerging diseases, workforce shortages, and financing constraints.
He emphasised that the graduates are expected to be not only practitioners but also leaders capable of strengthening institutions and improving service delivery.
Dr. Kim also highlighted the uniqueness of UGHE’s journey, describing it as the result of an extraordinary partnership between the Government of Rwanda and global partners, noting that such a model reflects Rwanda’s long-term vision for sustainable health systems.
Founded in 2015 with support from Partners In Health, UGHE inaugurated its permanent campus in Butaro in 2019. The university offers six academic programmes in partnership with Harvard University and has so far graduated 330 master’s degree holders, with 444 students currently enrolled.
In recognition of its growing academic standing, Times Higher Education in 2024 ranked UGHE fourth among 129 leading universities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Students come from Rwanda, the United States, Canada, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Lesotho, Uganda, and other countries.
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