On this episode of Off the Rak, Dr. Christian Ntizimira — a Rwandan palliative care physician, Harvard-trained researcher, and Executive Director of the African Center for Research on End-of-Life Care — shares how prioritizing compassion, dignity, and community can redefine how we lead, especially in moments of crisis. We explore practical ways to design empathy into institutions, honor presence over quick fixes, and recognize how much culture matters to nurturing trust. From personal stories in Africa to addressing global health challenges, Dr. Ntizimira’s work at the intersection of medicine, culture, faith, and leadership invites you to rethink what it means to care at the collective level and to lead with humanity at the center. 

About the Guest

Dr. Christian Ntizimira is the Founder and Executive Director of ACREOL and an International member of the Faculty of The Palliative Care Centre for Excellence in Research and Education (PalC).

He is a Fulbright alumnus and graduated from Harvard Medical School, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, and former City Manager, Kigali, City Cancer Challenge Foundation, and the former Executive Director of the Rwanda Palliative Care and Hospice Organization (RPCHO), a non-profit organization focused on home-based care in the City of Kigali.

Dr. Ntizimira pioneered the integration of palliative care and end-of-life care into health services rendered to Rwandan cancer patients and in community settings. Through his program (2008-2013), more than 1500 health care providers and community health workers learned the principles of cancer prevention, control & palliative care, leading to a five-fold increase in the prescription of morphine, an essential pain medication. In 2016, he was awarded as a young cancer leader and a world cancer regional lead in 2018 for his outstanding contributions to cancer control in Rwanda and Africa.

In 2018, he became the first advocacy/policy champion among extraordinary individuals who are making a significant contribution to developing palliative care in low and middle-income countries for the World Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA). From 2010 to 2013, he was the director of Kibagabaga Hospital in Kigali. He has advised several governments on national palliative-care policy, including Burundi, Rwanda, and Senegal, on access to palliative care services. He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Lancet Commission on Global Access to Palliative Care and Pain Control. Ntizimira graduated in medicine from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Rwanda in 2008. In 2011, he received a scholarship to study palliative care education and practice in the United States of America at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Palliative Care. He also trained as an African Pain Policy Expert at the University of Wisconsin. Ntizimira was named Young Cancer Leader by the Union for International Cancer Control in 2016 and Distinguished Young Leader by the Harvard Global Health Catalyst in 2017. He was named by OncoDaily to The 100 Most Influential CEOs in Oncology in 2025.

Links in this Episode

www.acreol.org

Dr. Christian Ntizimira's LinkedIn

Learn more about Off the Rak and watch past episodes at waltrakowich.com/offtherak

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