Rwanda and Gavi Reinforce Global Health Partnership as CEO Dr. Sania Nishtar Commends Nation’s ‘Gold Standard’ Immunization Success

KIGALI, Rwanda – In a high-level diplomatic mission that concluded this week, Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, praised Rwanda as a global blueprint for public health excellence following a series of meetings with President Paul Kagame and local health officials.

The visit underscored Rwanda’s remarkable achievement in maintaining a 95% national vaccination coverage rate, a figure that remains among the highest in the world and has served as a primary driver in slashing the country’s under-five mortality rate by more than 75% since the turn of the millennium.

During her mission, Dr. Nishtar emphasized that Rwanda’s success is built on a unique fusion of political will and cutting-edge innovation.

She highlighted the country’s pioneering partnership with Zipline, which has seen autonomous drones deliver nearly 400,000 vaccine doses to remote health centers since 2016, effectively eliminating the “last-mile” delivery challenge that plagues many other developing nations.

This technological edge is complemented by a sophisticated digital tracking system that assigns unique codes to infants, ensuring that no child—regardless of how often their family moves—falls through the cracks of the healthcare system.

The CEO’s visit also focused on Rwanda’s leadership in specialized health outcomes, notably its status as the first African nation to launch a Gavi-supported national HPV program.

With coverage exceeding 93%, Rwanda is currently on a trajectory to potentially eliminate cervical cancer ahead of many industrialized nations.

Furthermore, the delegation reviewed data showing that chronic Hepatitis B prevalence has plummeted to just 0.25% as of 2024, a direct result of aggressive infant and birth-dose vaccination strategies supported by the Alliance.

As Gavi prepares its 2026–2030 strategic roadmap, the focus in Rwanda is shifting toward long-term sustainability and regional self-reliance.

Dr. Nishtar’s tour of the TKMD syringe factory in Rwamagana served as a powerful signal of this transition, highlighting Rwanda’s evolution from a vaccine recipient to a regional manufacturing hub.

By investing in local medical supply chains and pandemic preparedness, the Rwanda-Gavi partnership is no longer just about saving lives today, but about building a resilient infrastructure capable of securing the health of the entire East African region for decades to come.