Defining Global Standards, Delivering Local Impact
RIIO 2025 ANNUAL REPORT
The year 2025 marked a historic turning point for RIIO as it stepped onto the world stage. We are immensely proud to be the first institution in Africa to receive Advanced Level accreditation from the Ophthalmology Foundation. This prestigious recognition serves as a global seal of approval, validating that our faculty, curriculum, and facilities meet the highest international standards of excellence.
Prof Karl Golnik Board member and Chair for Education of the Ophthalmology Foundation with RIIO residents at the award ceremony
Rwanda Minister of Education
Hon Joseph Nsengimana at the accreditation award ceremony
Further strengthening our academic foundation, the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern Central and Southern Africa (COECSA) renewed the accreditation of our Residency program for an additional five years. We also celebrated the personal achievement of faculty member Dr. Mulaw Negash, who was inducted as a COECSA fellow following his success in the fellowship exams in Addis Ababa.
Members of the COECSA accreditation committee visit RIIO for a site inspection and evaluation leading to accreditation for a further 5 years
Dr Mulaw and our Class of 2025 graduating as a COECSA fellows in Addis Ababa
A Collective Commitment to Excellence
At the heart of RIIO is our commitment to training the next generation of specialists to address the eye care gap in Africa. This mission is powered by the synergy between our dedicated staff, distinguished faculty, and ambitious trainees. In October 2025, we celebrated our third graduation ceremony, led by Chief Guest Prof. Andrew Blaikie. To date, the program has successfully trained 13 ophthalmologists from Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, and Kenya. Our current cohort of 16 residents continues this legacy, reflecting a broad regional diversity that now includes trainees from the Bahamas.
This international environment is enriched by a world-class resident faculty hailing from the USA, Ethiopia, Kenya, DR Congo, and Rwanda, who work alongside our skilled clinical and administrative staff to provide a high-standard learning environment. This internal expertise is further supported by numerous visiting faculty from around the globe. Our leadership’s commitment extends to the wider medical community, with Prof. John Nkurikiye serving as President of COECSA and Prof. Ciku Mathenge as President of the AOC, ensuring that the excellence fostered by our staff and faculty at RIIO has a lasting impact across the continent.
Innovation in Delivery of Training and Clinical Outreach
RIIO continues to bridge the gap between high-tech innovation and community service. A major highlight of 2025 was hosting the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital for its inaugural visit to Kigali. This mission brought cutting-edge simulation training to
Rwanda, allowing our residents and local partners to hone their skills through hands- on surgical training as well as through simulation training on Eyesi simulators and virtual reality platforms. This perfectly complemented our decision to make phacoemulsification training mandatory for all our resident.
While we embrace the future of technology, we remain grounded in our mission to serve the underserved. Our surgical outreach teams were exceptionally active this year, traveling to district hospitals in Shyira, Butaro, Kibogora, Nyamata, and Kabutare. In these regions—often lacking a resident specialist—our teams restored sight to 509 cataract patients.
Through our base at the Kibagabaga Community Eye Clinic we experienced 5491 patient encounters and performed over 500 different surgeries. We strengthened our Retinopathy of Prematurity screening program with 149 babies screened at Kibagabaga Neonatal unit.
Thriving Partnerships and Community Integration
Our success is shared with partners who believe in the power of sight. Through a unique collaboration with the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), RIIO faculty provided intensive ophthalmology "boot camps" and clinical rotations for 48 medical students this year.
We also deepened our partnership with Orbis International and our technological reach through the Diabetic Retinopathy screening program, utilizing Cybersight AI and four specialized cameras across Kigali to catch preventable blindness early. From the Accelerate an Eye Clinic project with the Fred Hollows Foundation to the generous support of the Fondazione Leonardo del Vecchio, these partnerships ensure that our graduates have the equipment and mentorship they need to thrive long after they leave our halls. Support from Cure Blindness allowed all our residents to travel to Ethiopia for an intense live classroom and wet lab experience as well as have all of them sit the OKAPs exams. Serge International supports one of our key faculty as well as provide untied funding for our logistics.
Looking Ahead: RIIO iHospital and Beyond
Now in its second year, the RIIO iHospital serves as our super-specialty hub, offering patients high-end laser treatments and same-day ambulatory surgeries with minimal wait times. More importantly, it serves as a premier training ground where residents master advanced procedures like SLT lasers, electrophysiological tests and crosslinking. As we prepare to admit our sixth cohort of trainees in January 2026, we remain dedicated to our staff—our greatest strength—whose hard work and team spirit continue to drive our mission forward.
