Dr. Cyprien Shyirambere is the oncology program director for Inshuti Mu Buzima, as Partners In Health is known in Rwanda. He leads the bustling, vital Cancer Center of Excellence at PIH-supported Butaro District Hospital in the country’s mountainous north. Many patients, family members, and caregivers travel to Butaro from across Rwanda or from surrounding countries such as Burundi Read more…
There are nearly 1 million new cancer cases and more than 500,000 cancer-related deaths in Africa per year, and these totals are projected to double by 2040. Training the next generation of health leaders to counter this rise is of critical importance. Increasingly, we see a need for cancer education that explores both the prevention measures and social determinants of Read more…
The hardest part about growing rice in a lush river valley in southeastern Rwanda, a dedicated group of farmers says, is “keeping the beds”—in other words, frequently yelling and waving to scare away flocks of hungry birds that descend on the paddies. Farmers’ piercing calls create a steady background noise Read more…
Spend a day at any Partners In Health site and there’s a good chance you’ll hear a phrase you’re unfamiliar with. Perhaps it’s a clunky acronym or polysyllabic drug name. But don’t worry: Keeping up with the ever-evolving world of global health is hard, even for insiders. In Need to Read more…
All over the world, millions of girls are denied basic human rights, such as access to health care and education. Since 2012, October 11 has marked the annual International Day of the Girl, a celebration that advocates for girls’ empowerment and human rights. This year, at Partners In Health, we Read more…
When Françoise Umutesi looks at her 1-year-old grandson, Blessing, she has the smile of someone who once thought she’d never have the chance to meet him. Umutesi, 45, is a breast cancer survivor. She had a mastectomy in 2012, at Butaro District Hospital in northern Rwanda. She was one of Read more…
Mondeh Mansaray sketches the form of his favourite football player with swift, diligent movements of his pencil. Nothing can break his focus as he sits curled-up on a wooden stool and pores over the white page in front of him. For Mondeh, 14, Saturday morning means one thing: no school. Read more…
