NIH Rwandan Fellow Dr. Hobabagabo

NIH Rwandan Fellow Dr. Hobabagabo

NIH Rwandan Fellow Promotes Global Health Equity Through Improved Diabetes Detection

Telling people who previously thought they were healthy that they have diabetes is a pivotal moment. Arsène F. Hobabagabo, M.D., M.Sc., the fourth Rwandan physician to complete the NIH-Rwandan Health Program, has done that many times. While working at the Rwanda Diabetes Association, he says, “I had to transmit the hope to people that knowing they have the disease will help them better manage it, even if it is not curable.” These moments marked the beginning of inspiring patient-physician relationships, in which Hobabagabo helped people with diabetes learn how to manage their disease.

For the fourth year in a row, the NIH-Rwandan Health Program, supported by NIMHD and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), has contributed to training clinician researchers from Rwanda at the NIH campus. This year, Hobabagabo was the program’s first fellow coming from the University of Global Health Equity, a new Rwandan partner....