Introductory word from Kir’App founder

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Claudine B. Kabeza, PhD (c), CDE (c), MPH, RN.

I wish you a warm welcome to Kir’App website! This website was developed to promote the awareness of the existence and the use of Kir’App Download KirApp from Google Play Store . Get to know more about KirApp.

Kir’App is the first Rwandan diabetes self-management Smartphone Application which is mainly client centered. Kir’App gets its name from “Kira” which is a word said in Rwandan culture to someone who sneezes to wish him/her to be healthy. This is also my sincere wish for all people living with diabetes; being as healthy as possible despite their chronic disease.

From my experience of working as a volunteer with the Rwanda Diabetes Association in their research and educative activities, I realized the big gap that exists in diabetes education among people living with diabetes in Rwanda. That is why I developed the diabetes client education content of Kir’App during my PhD research project to respond to the needs of Rwandans living with diabetes in terms of their health education.

Prior to the development of Kir’App, I first conducted qualitative interviews involving 21 young and adult Rwandans living with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes to assess their needs and expectations from the first Rwandan Diabetes self-management Smartphone Application. More details about the study can be found here. So Kir’App was developed following the existing diabetes education needs and wishes from Rwandans living with diabetes.

Kir’App’s interface color is orange to mean “Health, change, encouragement and determination”. Kir’App has 10 pages (see the table of their content on this website menu), designed to assist people living with diabetes in each aspect of the self-management of their disease. These pages are; “Teach me about diabetes” “Food drinks and diabetes”, “Physical activity and diabetes”, “Blood sugar and diabetes” , “Feet and diabetes”, “Diabetes health checkups” , “Advise me”, “Did you know”, “what, Where?” and “Remind me + LogBook”. Most of these pages have 6 parts; “The must know”, “The frequently asked questions”, “Myths or rumors”, the individual “diary”, “References used” and “Questions and comments” forum from users.

Kir’App is both in English and in Kinyarwanda. Kir’App is free. Kir’App users are informed that the information provided in Kir’App are general knowledge and recommendations and may under no circumstances replace professional advice provided by their healthcare providers. The information from Kir’App is also provided for their individual use only; they should never reproduce it elsewhere.

Visit Kir’App and inform others about it! Together let’s improve diabetes education in Rwanda. Watch this youtube video about KirApp.

Claudine B. Kabeza Kir’App founder



Claudine B. Kabeza is a lecturer at the University of Rwanda, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Rwamagana Campus. She is a PhD student in the department of diabetes prevention and management at Carl Gustav Carus University hospital under the Technical University of Dresden in Germany. She is also a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) candidate at the University of Florida (USA).