0:00:00.579,0:00:05.309
I came back to my home of Rwanda

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two years after the 1994 genocide[br]against the Tutsi.

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The country was devastated.

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The children I was caring for[br]in the hospitals

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were dying from treatable conditions,

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because we didn't have equipment[br]or medicine to save them.

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I was tempted to pack my bag and run away.

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But I debated with myself.

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And because I'm really dedicated[br]to social justice and equity,

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and there were only[br]five pediatricians in total

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for millions of children in Rwanda,

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I decided to stay.

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But among the people[br]who have motivated my decision to stay,

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there were some fantastic women of Rwanda,

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some women who had faced[br]the genocide and survived it.

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They had to overcome[br]unbelievable pain and suffering.

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Some of them were raising children[br]conceived through rape.

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Others were dying slowly with HIV

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and forgave the perpetrators,[br]who voluntarily infected them

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using HIV and rape as a weapon.

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So, they inspired me.

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If they can do that,

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I can stay and try to do my best.

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Those ladies were really activists

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of peace and reconciliation.

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They show us a way[br]to rebuild a country

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for our children and grandchildren[br]to have, one day,

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a place they can call home, with pride.

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And you can ask yourself

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where this shift of mindset[br]has brought our country.

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Today in Rwanda,

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we have the highest percentage[br]of women in parliament.

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(Applause)

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Wait till I tell you the percentage --

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sixty-one percent.

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(Applause)

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Today, we have the best campaign[br]for the vaccination of children

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with, among our success, 93 percent[br]of our girls vaccinated against HPV --

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(Applause)

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to protect them against cervical cancer.

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In this country, it's 54.

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(Laughter)

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We have reduced[br]child mortality by 75 percent,

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maternal mortality by 80 percent.

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In early 2000s,

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there were nine women[br]who were dying every day

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around delivery and pregnancy.

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Today, it's around two.

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It's an unfinished agenda.

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We still have a long way to go.

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Two is still too much.

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But, do I believe that those results

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are because we had a big number of women

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in power positions?

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I do.

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(Laughter)

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There is -- yes --

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(Applause)

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there is a study in the developing world

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that shows that if you improve[br]the status of women,

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you improve the status[br]of the community where they live.

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Up to 47 percent of decrease[br]in child mortality.

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And even in this country where we are now,

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it's true.

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There is a study by a lady[br]called Patricia Homan,

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who projected that if women and men

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were at parity in state legislatures,

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there would be a drop of 14.5 percent[br]in child mortality --

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in America!

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So we know that women,

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when they use their skills[br]in leadership positions,

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they enhance the entire population[br]they are in charge of.

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And imagine what would happen

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if women were at parity with men[br]all over the world.

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What a huge benefit we could expect.

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Hmm?

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Oh, yeah.

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(Applause)

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Because in general,

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we have a different style of leadership:

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more inclusive,

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more empathetic,

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more caring for little children.

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And this makes the difference.

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Unfortunately, this ideal[br]doesn't exist in the world,

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and the difference between men and women[br]in leadership positions

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is too big.

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Gender inequity is the norm[br]in the majority of professions,

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even in global health.

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I have learned that if we focus[br]on women's education,

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we improve their life positively

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as well as the well-being[br]of their community.

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This is why now I dedicate[br]my life to education.

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And this is totally aligned[br]with my sense of equity

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and my pursuit of social justice,

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because if you want to increase[br]access to health services,

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you need first to increase[br]access to health education.

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So with friends and partners,[br]we are building a beautiful university

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in the rural north of Rwanda.

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We educate our students

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to provide quality,[br]equitable, holistic care

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to everyone, leaving no one out,

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focusing on the vulnerable,[br]especially women and children,

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who are historically[br]the last to be served.

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We transform them into leaders

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and give them managerial skills[br]and advocacy skills

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for them to be smooth changemakers

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in the society where they will be,

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so that they can build health systems

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that allow them to care[br]about the vulnerable where they are.

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And it's really transformative.

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Because currently,

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medical education, for example,

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is given in institutions based in cities,

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focused on quality health services[br]and skills, clinical skills,

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to be given in institutions.

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We also focus on quality clinical skills

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but with biosocial approach[br]to the condition of patient,

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for care to be given in communities[br]where the people live,

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with hospitalization only when necessary.

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And also,

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after four to seven years[br]of clinical education in cities,

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young graduates don't want[br]to go back to rural area.

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So this is why we have built[br]the University of Global Health Equity,

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an initiative of Partners[br]in Health, called UGHE,

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in the rural north of Rwanda.

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(Applause)

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Our students

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are meant to go and change the world.

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They will come from all over --[br]it's a global university --

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and will get the medical[br]education for free

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at one condition:

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they have to serve the vulnerable[br]across the world

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during six to nine years.

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They will keep the salary[br]for themselves and their families

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but turn the education we give[br]in quality clinical services,

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especially for the vulnerable.

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And doing so,

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they sign an agreement at the start[br]that they will do that,

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a binding agreement.

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We don't want money.

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We have to go and mobilize the money.

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But they will turn this[br]in quality service delivery for all.

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For this, of course,

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we need a strong gender equity agenda.

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And in all our classes, master's course,

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minimum of 50 percent of women.

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(Applause)

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And I'm proud to say

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that for the medical school[br]that started five months ago,

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we have enrolled 70 percent girls.

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(Applause)

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This is a statement against[br]the current inequity

0:10:01.517,0:10:06.078
for women to access[br]medical education in our continent.

0:10:08.245,0:10:13.047
I believe in women's education.

0:10:13.071,0:10:18.140
This is why I applaud African ladies[br]who go all over the world

0:10:18.164,0:10:21.688
to increase their education,[br]their skills and their knowledge.

0:10:21.712,0:10:25.071
But I hope they will bring[br]that back to Africa

0:10:25.095,0:10:27.331
to build the continent

0:10:27.355,0:10:30.172
and make the continent a strong continent,

0:10:30.196,0:10:31.848
because I'm sure

0:10:33.101,0:10:36.553
a stronger Africa[br]will make the world stronger.

0:10:38.602,0:10:42.969
(Applause)

0:10:45.088,0:10:47.398
Twenty-three years ago,

0:10:47.422,0:10:50.493
I went back to Rwanda,

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to a broken Rwanda,

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that now is still a poor country

0:10:54.604,0:10:58.249
but shining with a bright future.

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And I am full of joy to have come back,

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even if some days were very difficult,

0:11:03.798,0:11:07.944
and even if some days I was depressed,[br]because I didn't find a solution

0:11:07.968,0:11:09.338
and people were dying,

0:11:09.362,0:11:11.874
or things were not moving enough.

0:11:13.519,0:11:18.003
But I'm so proud to have contributed[br]to improve my community.

0:11:18.995,0:11:21.558
And this makes me full of joy.

0:11:22.395,0:11:26.172
So, African women from the diaspora,

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if you hear me,

0:11:29.093,0:11:31.934
never forget your homeland.

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And when you are ready, come back home.

0:11:37.645,0:11:38.795
I did so.

0:11:39.971,0:11:42.486
It has fulfilled my life.

0:11:42.889,0:11:45.471
So, come back home.

0:11:45.802,0:11:46.976
Thank you.

0:11:47.000,0:11:50.730
(Applause)