Integrating Baby Ubuntu into government health systems in Rwanda

Since 2019, Baby Ubuntu has partnered with Partners in Health/Inshuti Mu Buzima (PIH/IMB) to bring targeted support to children with disabilities and their families in Rwanda. Recognising a gap in early care within their Paediatric Development Clinics (PDCs), Baby Ubuntu introduced a structured programme to provide developmental, health, and psychosocial support for high-risk children, particularly those born prematurely, with low birth weight, or with perinatal complications.

The PDC model integrates follow-up care delivered by interdisciplinary teams of nurses, social workers, psychologists, and general practitioners at health centres and district hospitals. As the programme grew, it became clear that children with developmental disabilities and their families needed specialised support to overcome stigma, social exclusion, and barriers to care.

Baby Ubuntu responded by training master trainers in collaboration with PIH/IMB and the Ministry of Health. These trainers continue to mentor group facilitators, ensuring the programme is co-delivered by government staff, primarily social workers and nurses, together with expert parents who bring lived experience.

The results are compelling: from 2019 to 2024, Baby Ubuntu groups directly supported 685 children with disabilities and their families, reaching a wider community of 918,016 people in Kayonza and Kirehe districts. Families, health workers, and policymakers have embraced the programme, highlighting the unique power of co-facilitation between professionals and parents.

“We complete each other,” said a social worker, reflecting on the collaboration with expert parents. “These groups came at the right time… I will be a role model through taking care of my child together with my wife,” shared an expert parent of a child with cerebral palsy.

Building on this success, Baby Ubuntu is scaling in partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of Health, Rwanda Biomedical Centre, and National Child Development Agency. The “PDC and Baby Ubuntu Bundle,” fully integrated into Rwanda’s primary healthcare system, is expanding to three new districts serving over 1.2 million people. This scale-up is part of a rigorous evaluation to measure both implementation, cost and impact, ensuring that children with disabilities and their families receive the support they need to thrive.

Baby Ubuntu in Rwanda demonstrates how collaboration, expertise, and lived experience can transform early childhood care within a government health system.