Kayinamura Mwali Assumpta

Deputy chief of party/Technical director for the Ingobyi Activity

Dr. Kayinamura Mwali Assumpta is a clinical pediatric medicine practitioner and reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health expert with more than 15 years of experience working in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dr. Mwali currently serves as the deputy chief of party/technical director for the USAID-funded Ingobyi Activity in Rwanda. She previously served as the sr. reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health advisor for the Ingobyi Activity and as the regional senior newborn technical advisor for the Maternal Child Survival Program. She participated in the review and updating of Rwanda’s Reproductive Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Policy and Strategic Plan; essential newborn care and community-based maternal and newborn training materials; and postnatal care and mentorship guidelines and tools.

In her role as the national technical neonatology assistant, Dr. Mwali was the first to design and implement a decentralized newborn program in Rwandan district hospitals. Prior to 2010, newborns were only admitted to teaching hospitals and King Faisal Hospital, so Dr. Mwali created a pilot neonatal unit in Rwamagana Hospital that contributed to decrease neonatal mortality. Following this, the Ministry of Health requested she lead the scale-up in all district hospitals, and all districts now have a Level 2 Neonatal Unit.

Dr. Mwali holds a master’s degree in pediatric medicine from the University of Rwanda and a master's degree in public health from Universite libre de Bruxelles.

VITAL

How Can We See More Smiling Babies in Rwanda and Around the World?

Health workers are key, says Kayinamura Mwali Assumpta, along with ensuring they have the training, support, and equipment they need.