Land of a Thousand NGOs

Rice Professor Marc Epstein and Josh Ruxin at Heaven

by Gale Wiley

Kigali, Rwanda (March 2 & 3, 2010) -- Here in the "land of a thousand hills" it has been a real world learning experience for Rice MBAs and undergraduate engineers as they navigate Rwanda's health care system, identifying its dizzying number of suppliers, distribution channels, officials, certifications, regulations, and what seems like a thousand NGOs.

For example, on Tuesday, the C-clamp "EasyDose" team visited hospitals where doctors said the team's device for regulating oral dosage of drugs "has potential." On Wednesday the team interviewed health care management and supply chain consultants. Thursday, it met with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bureau des formations médicales agrées du Rwanda (BUFMAR), and the AIDS Foundation.

Wednesday the CPAP (infantAIR, Inc) team met officials from UNICEF, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the Columbia School of Public Health. They met with organizations that train Rwandans how to use drugs. They met with organizations that serve as a bridge between health care workers and patients.

On Tuesday the backpack team toured a tiny health clinic in the Bugesera district where they saw the efforts of Project Access to modernize rural clinics by using computers, record keeping, inventory management, and refrigeration. Earlier in the week the team met with a physician who formed an organization of Rwandan doctors focsuing on something they call "mobile health care."

Using QuickBooks at Bugesera health clinic

Tuesday, the SmartDrip team showed its battery-powered IV monitor to doctors at Rwanda's biggest hospital where the team learned that over hydration is not as serious a problem as the team had thought.

On Thursday each team sent a representative to meet with Rwanda's minister of health.

Monday night at his wife's restaurant, Heaven, Josh Ruxin, a five-year resident of Rwanda and a well known authority on comprehensive approaches to fighting poverty with emphasis on scaling up national health programs, met with the Rice teams. Ruxin is the country director for the Millennium Village Project and founder of the Access Project for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

His advice to the students was practical and to the point: if you want your products to succeed, find a market and a revenue stream.

Wednesday the teams dined at the Bridge2Rwanda house, not far from Hotel Gorillas.

Bridge2Rwanda is a Christian NGO that advises Rwanda's government, builds schools, and encourages entrepreneurship at all levels.