The programme is run by the University of Rwanda together with three partner Swedish universities. These include the University of Gothenburg, Umeå University and Karolinska Institutet. This programme is a continuation of the previous phases of the medicine and health sciences sub-programme, through which the University of Rwanda collaborated with the University of Gothenburg and Umea University in the research area of infectious diseases. Since 2007, PhD students have been trained on sandwich mode.
For 2019-2024, the programme is developed to elucidate the risk factors associated with the occurrence of infectious diseases and the efficacy of anti-microbial treatment. The partnership will include PhD training on sandwich mode, local PhD training, local master training and post-doctoral fellowship. The qualified academic staff will ensure better education of health professionals, who will provide quality healthcare services leading to a healthy population, which in turn will contribute to the development of Rwanda.
Infectious diseases constitute a heavy burden for Rwanda and other developing countries. In particular, improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and management of viral diseases are warranted. Proposed projects within the infectious disease subprogram perform epidemiological studies of challenging infectious diseases in Rwanda, along with drug development and optimization for treatment of infectious diseases and monitoring the outcome of new vaccine programs. Besides, proposed studies include evaluation of the effects of environmental changes on the prevalence, incidence and distribution of zoonotic viral diseases, aiming to improve preventive measures to increase general health. Additionally, by exploring potential genetic factors influencing the pathogenesis of viral infections the programme finds ways to identify patients at risk of developing chronic viral infections.