Paul Kagame

====Education and health====
{{further|COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda}}
Kagame has made education for [[youth in Rwanda]] a high priority for his administration, allocating {{percentage|17|100}} of the annual budget to the sector.{{sfn|World Review|2013}} The Rwandan government provides free education in state-run schools for twelve years: six years in primary and six in secondary school.{{sfn|UNDP|2012}} The final three years of free education were introduced in 2012 following a pledge by Kagame during his 2010 re-election campaign.{{sfn|Rwirahira|2012}} Kagame credits his government with improvements in the tertiary education sector; the number of universities has risen from 1 in 1994 to 29 in 2010,{{sfn|Kagame|2011}} and the tertiary [[gross enrollment ratio]] increased from {{Percentage|4|100|0}} in 2008 to {{Percentage|7|100|0}} in 2011.{{sfn|World Bank (I)}} From 1994 until 2009, secondary education was offered in either French or English;{{sfn|McGreal|2009}} since 2009, due to the country's increasing ties with the [[East African Community]] and the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], English has been the sole language of instruction in public schools from primary school grade 4 onward.{{sfn|VSO|2012|p=3}} The country's [[literacy]] rate, defined as those aged 15 or over who can read and write, was {{Percentage|71|100|0}} in 2009, up from 58% in 1991 and 38% in 1978.{{sfn|World Bank (II)}}

Rwanda's health profile is dominated by communicable diseases,{{sfn|WHO (I)|2009|p=5}} including [[malaria]], [[pneumonia]], and [[HIV/AIDS]]. Prevalence and mortality rates have sharply declined in the past decade{{sfn|WHO (I)|2009|pp=4–7}} but the short supply or unavailability of certain medicines continues to challenge disease management.{{sfn|WHO (I)|2009|p=10}} Kagame's government is seeking to improve this situation as one of the Vision 2020 priorities. It has increased funding, with the health budget up from {{Percentage|32|1000|1}} of national expenditure in 1996 to {{Percentage|97|1000|1}} in 2008.{{sfn|WHO (I)|2009|p=10}} It also set up training institutes, including the [[Kigali Health Institute]] (KHI),{{sfn|KHI|2012}} and in 2008 effected laws making health insurance mandatory for all individuals;{{sfn|WHO (II)|2008}} by 2010, over {{Percentage|90|100|0}} of the population was covered.{{sfn|McNeil|2010}} These policies have contributed to a steady increase in quality of healthcare and improvement in key indicators during Kagame's presidency. In 2010, 91 children died before their fifth birthday for every 1000 live births, down from 163 under five deaths for every 1000 live births in 1990.{{sfn|UNICEF|2012}} Prevalence of some diseases is declining, including the elimination of maternal and neonatal [[tetanus]]{{sfn|WHO (I)|2009|p=4}} and a sharp reduction in malaria [[morbidity]], [[mortality rate]], and specific [[lethality]].{{sfn|WHO (I)|2009|p=5}} In response to shortages in qualified medical personnel, in 2011 the Rwandan government launched an eight-year US$151.8&nbsp;million initiative to train medical professionals.{{sfn|Rwanda Human Resources for Health Program|2011}}

Kagame has garnered praise for the country's response to the ongoing global [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. Despite the country having a relatively underdeveloped health care system, Rwanda has one of the lowest infection and mortality rates in the world, and is seen as a success story. Rwanda is currently the only nation in Africa whose residents are permitted to enter the [[Schengen Area]] for non essential travel.{{sfn|Beaubien|2020}} Rwanda's response has not been without its criticisms, in particular the curbing of [[civil liberties]] and [[individualism|individual freedoms]].{{sfn|Bariyo|2020}} By April 2022. Rwanda was one of the few countries in Africa to have fully vaccinated over 60% of its population against COVID-19.<ref>{{cite web |title=Covid-19: Rwanda has vaccinated over 60% of its population |url=https://www.africanews.com/2022/04/08/rwanda-has-vaccinated-over-60-of-its-population/ |website=Africanews |access-date=30 April 2022 |date=9 April 2022}}</ref>