Building clinical trial priorities at the University of Rwanda

Jeanine Condo, Brenda Kateera, Eugene Mutimura, Francine Birungi, Albert Ndagijimana, Stefan Jansen, Julius Kamwesiga, Jamie I Forrest, Edward J Mills, Agnes Binagwaho

After the genocide in Rwanda, the country's healthcare system collapsed. Remarkable gains have since been made by the state to provide greater clinical service capacity and expand health policies that are grounded on locally relevant evidence. This commentary explores the challenges faced by Rwanda in building an infrastructure for clinical trials. Through local examples, we discuss how a clinical trial infrastructure can be constructed by (1) building educational capacity; (2) encouraging the testing of relevant interventions using appropriate and cost-effective designs; and, (3) promoting ethical and regulatory standards. The future is bright for clinical research in Rwanda and with a renewed appetite for locally generated evidence it is necessary that we discuss the challenges and opportunities in drawing up a clinical trials agenda.