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Miriam Mutebi/LinkedIn

Mar 7, 2025, 13:31

Miriam Mutebi: Let’s talk polytunities

Miriam Mutebi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“If there’s one thing this AHIAC Kigali meeting (powered by AMREF) is teaching me, it is that we need a new mindset shift.

Instead of drowning in polycrisis—climate change, fragile economies, etc.—let’s talk polytunities: the intersecting opportunities we can harness to invest in health. Because, let’s face it, there’s work to do!

I had the absolute pleasure of moderating a powerful session with the African Breast Cancer Council, featuring Ministers of Health from Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda. We tackled the urgent need to put breast cancer on Africa’s health agenda—not just in theory but in action.

Rwanda is making strides with a community health insurance fund that covers 98% of Rwandans for cancer treatment. (Only 2% to go! Amazing right?)

They’re doing it through innovative financing, smart tax policies, and sheer commitment.

Côte d’Ivoire is leveraging private-public partnerships (PPP) to expand access because no single country or entity can tackle cancer alone. Collaboration is the name of the game.

In a session I moderated on ‘Bridging Disparities: Advancing Breast Cancer Care For African Women’, we took a moment to ask the audience what comes to mind when they think about breast cancer.

Their responses: frustration, fear, hope, a cure.

The goal? Turn this frustration and fear into hope and a cure. Some key strategies we discussed:

Investing deliberately in health systems
Expanding successful partnerships
Prioritizing community engagement
Mobilizing collaborators (fun fact, the word collaborators replaces ‘stakeholders’ which is now politically incorrect. If you didn’t know…you’re welcome)

It’s International Women’s Day tomorrow, so here’s a photo of the incredible women I’ve been hanging out with from the African Breast Cancer Council.”