Re-Imagining Healthcare

The Ihangane Project is a nonprofit healthcare organization that began working in Rwanda in 2008 with the goal of improving the health status of HIV+ adults and children. Our work in Ruli, Rwanda has evolved into a surprisingly simple, highly effective model for delivering primary health care to vulnerable people everywhere. Read our story at www.theihanganeproject.com.

We had the privilege of meeting the founder of The Ihangane Project, Dr. Wendy Leonard, at a conference in Mexico called Opportunity Collaboration. We were compelled by her vision and approach of listening deeply to patients and providers and working within existing healthcare systems to inspire and implement continuous quality improvement to improve maternal and child health outcomes. Dr. Leonard and her colleagues presented the success of their model at the International AIDS Conference.

These remarkable outcomes are a direct result of The Ihangane Project’s innovative model of care. Health care workers and HIV+ mothers at seven health centers associated with Ruli District Hospital designed and implemented a CQI program that has increased quality across all pillars of care by 146% between 2013 and 2016. Here’s a glimpse of our process presented at The International AIDS Conference in 2016.