Dr. Tharcisse MPUNGA is currently the Director General of the Kigali University Teaching Hospital commonly known by its French acronym CHUK. 

Dr. Tharcisse has over 15 years of experience in leadership in the Rwandan health care sector. As Director General of Butaro Hospital, he led the development and implementation of the Butaro Center of Excellence in Cancer Care (BCCOE) until his appointment as Rwanda’s Minister of State in Charge of Primary Health Care in 2020 until 2022. Research is critical to guiding evidence-based cancer policy and programs in Rwanda and he has been heavily engaged in research, including collaborating with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute physicians, on a cluster randomized controlled trial of breast cancer early diagnosis in Burera District. He is now pursuing a doctoral degree in Cancer Epidemiology and studying infections associated with cancer in Rwanda. Dr. Tharcisse has published manuscripts about surgical oncologic care, the development of pathology capacity, and has led several projects assessing the use of telepathology services and building capacity for immunohistochemistry. He is invested in facilitating effective and feasible strategies for early detection of women’s cancers.