Princess Lalla Asmaa, sister of King Mohammed VI and President of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation, chaired a ceremony in Kigali on Monday to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Lalla Asmaa Foundation and the Imbuto Foundation, chaired by Rwanda’s First Lady, Jeannette Kagame.
In line with King Mohammed VI’s vision of active solidarity among brotherly and friendly nations, the exchange of expertise and joint development, the MoU marks a new milestone in strengthening medical and humanitarian cooperation and knowledge transfer between Morocco and Rwanda.
On this occasion, Princess Lalla Asmaa attended a presentation by Elodie Shami, Director General of the Imbuto Foundation, outlining the organization’s initiatives in early childhood development, girls’ education, youth health and economic empowerment.
Currently operating in all 30 districts of Rwanda, the Imbuto Foundation implements programs through a network of community-based centers known as Imbuto Hubs. These initiatives focus on adolescent health and mental well-being, early childhood development, girls’ education and youth entrepreneurship, Shami said, as reported by FAAPA.
For his part, Karim Essakalli, Executive President of the Lalla Asmaa Foundation, presented the Moroccan model, which provides comprehensive support for deaf individuals, from newborn hearing screening through to employment.
Signed by Essakalli and Shami, the memorandum lays the foundation for a long-term partnership between Morocco and Rwanda to address hearing loss. It aims to strengthen the exchange of expertise between teams from both countries, provide training for Rwandan professionals and ensure sustained support for children and their families.
In 2023, the Lalla Asmaa Foundation launched a newborn hearing screening program and has since provided free care to more than 1,200 people who received cochlear implants.
In December 2025, the Foundation organized the first African Congress on Pediatric Cochlear Implantation. Another major milestone followed on October 15, 2026, with the inauguration of Lalla Asmaa University, a unique inclusive institution where deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing students study together alongside professionals from various sectors.
For Rwanda, this cooperation provides access to an established model of care, encompassing the organization of a comprehensive healthcare pathway, the training of multidisciplinary teams and the development of financing mechanisms for cochlear implantation.
