Background: The Rwanda Human Resources for Health Program (HRH Program) is a 7-year (2012-2019) health professional training initiative led by the Government of Rwanda with the goals of training a large, diverse, and competent health workforce and strengthening the capacity of academic institutions in Rwanda. Methods: The data for this organizational case study was collected through official reports from the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MoH) and 22 participating US academic institutions, databases from the MoH and the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) in Rwanda, and surveys completed by the co-authors. Results: In the first 5 years of the HRH Program, a consortium of US academic institutions has deployed an average of 99 visiting faculty per year to support 22 training programs, which are on track to graduate almost 4600 students by 2019. The HRH Program has also built capacity within the CMHS by promoting the recruitment of Rwandan faculty and the establishment of additional partnerships and collaborations with the US academic institutions. Conclusion: The milestones achieved by the HRH Program have been substantial although some challenges persist. These challenges include adequately supporting the visiting faculty; pairing them with Rwandan faculty (twinning); ensuring strong communication and coordination among stakeholders; addressing mismatches in priorities between donors and implementers; the execution of a sustainability strategy; and the decision by one of the donors not to renew funding beyond March 2017. Over the next 2 academic years, it is critical for the sustainability of the 22 training programs supported by the HRH Program that the health-related Schools at the CMHS significantly scale up recruitment of new Rwandan faculty. The HRH Program can serve as a model for other training initiatives implemented in countries affected by a severe shortage of health professionals.

The Lancet Commission on Education of Health Professionals for the 21 st Century calls for enhancing health education for the needs and challenges of the 21st century to improve health status globally. To complement the Lancet report, this article makes recommendations for including core global health competencies in the education of health care professionals and speciic groups of the public who are relevant to oral health in a global context in order to tackle the burden of oral diseases. Experts from various professional backgrounds developed global oral health competencies for four target groups: Group 1 was deined as dental students, residents/trainee specialists (or equivalent), and dentists; Group 2 was community health workers, dental hygienists, and dental therapists (or the equivalent); Group 3 was health professionals such as physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists; and Group 4 was non-health professionals in the public arena such as parents, teachers, decision makers, key opinion leaders, and health and consumer advocates. Key competencies for members of each of the four target groups are presented in a matrix. The suggested competency matrix shows that many other health professions and groups in society have potentially crucial roles in the prevention, control, and management of oral diseases globally. Workforce models including a wider range of professionals working together as a team will be needed to tackle the burden of oral diseases in an integrated way in the broader context of non-communicable diseases. Further discussion and research should be conducted to validate or improve the competencies proposed here with regard to their relevance, appropriateness, and completeness.

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