The Government of Rwanda has appointed Dr. Semakula Muhamed as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, following a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on July 16, 2025
He takes over a critical leadership role, working alongside Sophie Nzabananimana, the newly appointed Director General for Corporate Services
A Distinguished Expert in Health Data
Dr. Muhamed holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD, is a Chartered Statistician (CStat), and a skilled data scientist, specializing in statistical methods and data analysis
His career at the Ministry of Health includes serving as Head of Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation and Health Financing
He is a “Senior Statistician | Biostatistician | Data Scientist” passionate about transforming health data into actionable insights
His notable initiatives:
- Led the creation of a Health Intelligence Center, designed to harness real-time data for disease surveillance, resource distribution, and policy formulation
- Oversaw hands-on analysis to inform Rwanda’s five-year health sector strategic plan
- Instrumental in establishing the WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications in Africa, gathering 120 global experts
- Helped launch the Kigali Hub for Spatial & Spatio‑Temporal Modelling, a pioneering African center for climate–health analytics
- Organized conferences and training programs on Bayesian spatial models, INLA, and R programming
Earlier in his career, Dr. Muhamed worked at the Rwanda Biomedical Center as a statistical analyst during the COVID-19 pandemic
Professional networks have warmly welcomed his promotion. The Rwanda Karate Federation posted on X:
“Congratulations to Sensei Semakula Muhamed on your appointment as Permanent Secretary at @RwandaHealth.”
His appointment comes at a pivotal time for Rwanda’s health sector, with an increasing focus on leveraging data and technology to drive public health outcomes. As Permanent Secretary, Dr. Muhamed is expected to guide strategic planning, scale health informatics, and foster partnerships with global health bodies.
Dr. Muhamed’s leadership is expected to drive continued innovation in Rwanda’s health ecosystem. His expertise in data-driven health strategy and digital infrastructure will be pivotal in shaping the country’s health outcomes and aligning them with broader global goals for health security and resilience.
