University of Rwanda’s college bans access to unvaccinated

The University of Rwanda’s college of medicine and health sciences has issued instructions banning all unvaccinated students and staff from accessing the campus from 27 September 2021.

Based in the capital city of Kigali in Rwanda, the institution is one of the six colleges that form the University of Rwanda. It offers medical and health science education, including in the fields of pharmacy, public health, dentistry, nursing and midwifery.

According to a circular issued on 24 September and addressed to all students and staff, only those who present a vaccination certificate to show they have been inoculated against COVID-19 will be granted entry to the campus.

One dosage of a vaccine requiring two jabs is also acceptable, stated a circular signed by Associate Professor Jeanne Kagwiza, the acting principal of the college.

She added that the security office had been informed about enforcing the instructions.

According to Ignatius Kabagambe, the University of Rwanda’s head of corporate communications and the University of Rwanda’s spokesperson, the medical and health science college was the only one of the university’s Kigali-based campuses to have taken a decision to ban the unvaccinated from entering its facilities, but the university was seeking to expand the decision to other colleges and their campuses.

Other colleges in Kigali include the college of science and technology and the college for business and economics.

Elsewhere, Mount Kenya University Rwanda, a Kenyan private university operating in Kigali, has also called on students to get vaccinated.

“Every student must have received at least the first jab by September 27, otherwise they will not be allowed to access campus premises or receive any services without proof of vaccination,” reads an announcement by the university.

In Kigali, anyone older than 18 may get the jab, while other parts of the country have their own eligibility guidelines.

Vaccination target

The decision by the college comes as the government said it has reached a vaccination milestone.

Dr Daniel Ngamije, the minister of health, said in a statement on 24 September that 28% of the target population of 7.8 million people (representing 60% of the Rwandan population) are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A total of 1.5 million people have been fully vaccinated, but more dosages have been distributed.

“Two million [distributed] vaccinations is a milestone, but the journey continues,” Ngamije noted.

“The government of Rwanda is doing the best we can to acquire the needed vaccines and we are grateful to different stakeholders who continue to contribute to availing and distributing the vaccines to our people. We aim to reach 30% of the population by the end of this year, 2021,” he added.

Rwanda has currently received 3,658,310 doses of COVID-19 vaccines through a variety of platforms including the COVAX facility, the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), bilateral agreements and government direct purchases in partnership with the World Bank.

According to the health minister, Rwanda will continue mobilising vaccines with the aim of vaccinating as many people as possible.

The COVID-19 positivity rates from about 10% in July and August 2021 have dropped to less than 3% in September, according to the ministry of health.