16th November 2017, Kigali– Kigali Mayor Nyamulinda Pascal announced today that the City of Kigali has launched a new initiative to curb smoking in public as part of the Partnership for Healthy Cities, a global network of cities committed to reducing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries.


The City of Kigali will work with the Ministry of Health, Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) alongside Bloomberg Philanthropies and implementing partner Vital Strategies to deploy proven solutions to save lives and improve environments where people live, work and play. Smoking is one of the main causes of NCDs—including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases. According to the NCD Risk Factor Survey 2012-13, the adult smoking prevalence in Rwanda is 13%.


While launching the initiative Mayor Nyamulinda pointed out that, “The City of Kigali takes the health of its residents seriously, that why we have initiatives like car free day and mass sports every month to curb noncommunicable diseases. We believe that healthy livelihoods are a basis for progress for our people”.

The Partnership for Healthy Cities is an initiative supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies founded by Former Mayor of New York Michael R. Bloomberg who is also World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Ambassador. Healthy Cities initiative unites mayors who are committed to helping their citizens live healthier lives and to reduce NCDs and injuries.


In 2017, City of Kigali, Rwanda was selected as one of 50 cities to participate in the Partnership for Healthy Cities. The 18-month project will provide technical assistance and a one-time seed grant of up to $100,000 USD to support activities to create a smoke-free city through mobilization campaigns, regulatory enforcement and healthy lifestyles.