Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Rwanda?
In 2026, Rwanda scores 44 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 76th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 55th to 98th allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The government decides, with limited say for the person. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is rules for AI in your care (55 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is control over who sees it (30 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country).
Rwanda's 2025 health law gives patients their file within five working days, but the state record is still rolling out with no sharing controls.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
44/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 55th to 98th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 50 out of 100 in Rwanda; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Law 026/2025 gives patients the right to consult their file and get a copy within five working days of a written request. A national patient app is planned, and whether patients can see their own records online today is not verified. Source: minijust.gov.rw, September 18, 2025, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Rwanda?
In 2026, the government holds the keys to your health record in Rwanda. Control over who sees it scores 30 out of 100 in Rwanda; the typical country scores 30. The law requires consent or another legal ground, but health processing for care and public health needs no separate consent, and records are linked to the national ID. We found no opt-out and no access log patients can see. Source: RwandaLII, October 15, 2021, and the other sources below.
How does Rwanda compare?
In 2026, Rwanda scores 44 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Eswatini (43 out of 100), Seychelles (43 out of 100) and South Africa (43 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Eswatini, Seychelles, South Africa and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
50
40 · 40 · 40
Control over who sees it20%
30
35 · 42 · 42
Privacy and security15%
52
55 · 45 · 60
One record across your care15%
46
50 · 52 · 33
Protection from sale and ads10%
50
42 · 40 · 50
Doctors see it when treating you10%
34
45 · 50 · 32
Your say over research use5%
50
46 · 46 · 50
Rules for AI in your care5%
55
25 · 20 · 48
Black dot: Rwanda. Hollow dots: Eswatini, Seychelles, South Africa (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Rwanda 44 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Rwanda need to change to score higher?
Rwanda sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are control over who sees it (30 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and getting your full record (50 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Which laws give health record rights in Rwanda?
Law n° 058/2021 relating to the protection of personal data and privacy: Health is sensitive data; copy right; 48-hour breach notice; storage in Rwanda; prison for selling data.
Law n° 026/2025 regulating healthcare services: Patient file copy in five working days; confidentiality; encryption of patient data; ten-year retention.
Law n° 015/2022 relating to research on a human being: Ethics committee approval; written, revocable consent; reuse of research data needs fresh permission.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
1.8 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
12.8 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
13.4% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Compulsory private insurance, counted separately: 2.6% of health spending (2023).
"We found no rules on emergency access or on private clinics joining e-Ubuzima."
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Rwanda scored 44 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 76th of 198 countries and territories (could be 55th to 98th), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/rwanda/
The 15 sources for Rwanda
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Law n° 026/2025 of 17/09/2025 regulating healthcare services (Official Gazette n° Special of 18/09/2025, Ministry of Justice)”
minijust.gov.rw (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated September 18, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use
“Ikoranabuhanga rya E-Ubuzima riratangira gukoreshwa hose bitarenze 2025” [E-Ubuzima technology will begin to be used everywhere by 2025 at the latest] our machine translation
Voice of Africa (news) · Title in Kinyarwanda
Dated May 8, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/rwanda/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
