Agnes Binagwaho

Professor Agnes Binagwaho, MD, M(Ped), PhD, is a Rwandan pediatrician, global health leader, and academic whose career encompasses clinical medicine, government service, and international health policy. Binagwaho specialized in pediatrics and, after earning her master's in pediatrics, sub-specialized in emergency medicine for adults and children and the treatment of HIV/AIDS in both populations. She was working as a pediatrician in France during the Rwandan genocide and returned to Rwanda to contribute to rebuilding the country's public health system, beginning with clinical care in public hospitals before advancing to national health leadership roles.

Binagwaho held several senior government positions, including Executive Secretary of Rwanda's National AIDS Control Commission, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, and Minister of Health. While serving as Executive Secretary, she chaired the Rwandan Steering Committee for the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). She also co-chaired the United Nations Task Force of Millennium Development Goals Project for HIV/AIDS and Access to Essential Medicines. As Minister of Health, Binagwaho implemented a data-driven approach to health policy, utilizing Global Burden of Disease data and evidence from national data-gathering to maximize the impact of limited resources.

Under Binagwaho's leadership, Rwanda experienced significant improvements in public health, including increased life expectancy and reductions in child mortality and the prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS. She also launched online public engagement initiatives, such as biweekly Twitter discussions on global health policy and Rwanda's health sector, using the hashtag #MinisterMondays.

Binagwaho has received multiple honors, including the Roux Prize for turning evidence into health impact and the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award for her contributions to the Rwandan health system. She was named among the 100 Most Influential African Women and received an Honorary Doctor of Science from Northwestern University. Binagwaho was the first recipient of a Doctorate of Philosophy from the College of Business and Economics at the University of Rwanda, with her dissertation titled "Children's Right to Health in the Context of the HIV Epidemic: The Case of Rwanda."

In addition to her government service, Binagwaho has held academic and advisory roles, including founding Vice Chancellor of University of Global Health Equity, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She is a member of the American National Academy of Medicine, a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, and a Senior Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization. Binagwaho has published more than 190 peer-reviewed articles, with research focusing on health equity, human rights, implementation science, HIV/AIDS, and pediatric care, establishing her as a leading voice in global public health.