In Musanze, Rwanda, two NGOs, Gorilla Doctors and Docs4GreatApes, are working on the One Health Initiative to indirectly protect the endangered mountain gorillas. They aim to build capacity and strengthen the public health care of the people who live in close proximity to the gorillas’ habitat. By creating healthier human populations, there will be less risk of disease transmission, such as TB or parasites, to the gorillas, and the overall well-being and development of the area will be improved.
An unpublished study by Western University in 2010 identified areas in the public health system in Rwanda that health care professionals felt were lacking necessary knowledge and experience. The goal of the “VirungaOne” initiative is to develop and deliver continuing professional development (CPD) modules to train the nurses who work in the local health centres.
This case focuses on the issues Dr. Rick Quinn, the founding director of Docs4GreatApes, faced in discovering the most culturally appropriate and efficacious way to design and deliver the CPD training in a resource-poor setting. It centers around health promotion through education, while incorporating aspects of social determinants of health, environmental health, community health assessment and program evaluation, and aboriginal health
