Officials at the Integrated MCH week launch
The Ministry of Health has launched the Integrated Maternal and Child Health Week 2025 aimed at improving child and maternal health, especially improving nutrition.
Following several resolutions from the national dialogue, the government has taken cross-cutting measures that have seen stunting trends reduced from 38 percent in 2022 to 33 percent.
Rwanda is looking at attaining 15 percent in the next five years through the 2nd National Strategy for Transformation (NST2).
The Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Consolee Uwimana officiated the launch this January 13, 2025, at Gikomero Sector in Gasabo district, one of the urban districts with 23 percent stunting cases.
The week’s activities slated from 13th to 17th will include creating awareness and educating communities on nutrition, hygiene, and family planning practices, among other ways that could enable the country to further reduce the cases to meet its targets.
Minister Uwimana said that though Rwanda has managed to reduce child and maternal deaths, there is a need to improve nutrition and in order for this to happen, there is a need for both parents to be involved in improving nutrition in families.
“When parents have conflicts within the family, this affects the children’s welfare and especially feeding. Therefore we ask that parents promote gender equality and also practice family planning so that we have children we can support. You cannot fight and then remember to feed a child or even follow up on their education,” Uwimana said.
Uwimana said that attaining improved maternal and child health will reinforce the healthcare progress that the country has made over the years.
For instance, Rwanda has made significant progress in reducing fertility rates (from 6.1 to 3.6 in 2022) and child mortality, with under-five mortality dropping from 76 in 2010 to 45 in 2020.
Life expectancy has risen dramatically, from 51 to 69.6 years between 2002 and 2022. Stunting in children under five has decreased considerably over the past 15 years.
The Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) shows a decline from 51 percent in 2005 to 38 percent in 2015, further dropping to 33 percent in 2020. Despite the progress, Rwanda’s stunting rate remains high, exceeding the average for the African region (30.7 percent).
Dr. Francois Regis Kiza, Director of the Health Facilities Programs Unit Maternal Child and Community Health Division at Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), said that during the week, they will focus on improved maternal healthcare (pregnancy tests) and collecting data and aggregating the numbers of stunted children across the country.
Rwanda has increased the number of pregnancy tests from 4 to 8 times before birth, and according to Kiza, the country has reached 96 percent.
However, there is a challenge of delays in taking the first test (50 percent) and those who have taken four tests are at 47 percent compared to the global and national target of 90 percent (for all eight tests).
Kiza also revealed that they will use the campaign to collect data on stunting to have a real picture for direct intervention.
“This data will be updated and enable the government to specifically address individual cases (one-by-one) so as to have direct impact and interventions,” Kiza said.
Renata Tallarico
On behalf of the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Renata Tallarico, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA-Rwanda) Deputy Representative said that the Integrated MCH Week provides a crucial platform to further gains made but also acknowledge ongoing concerns.
Tallarico said that some of these are neonatal mortality (19 per 1,000 live births) and continuing challenges with under-five mortality, maternal mortality (203 per 100,000 live births), a high stunting rate among children under five (33%), anemia prevalence (13.1% in women of reproductive age), teenage pregnancies (5.2%), and an unmet need for family planning (13.6%).
“This week represents a direct response to these challenges through sustained, integrated efforts. By providing integrated services, we not only address immediate needs but also contribute to long-term health and development outcomes,” Tallarico said.
Ana Bodipo-Mbuyamba
Ana Bodipo-Mbuyamba, the Acting Mission Director for USAID Rwanda and Burundi, said that the United States government continues to stand strong in partnership with the Government of Rwanda to achieve a shared goal of better health outcomes for all.
“We can, we must, and we will do more with the Ministry of Health and other partners to keep bringing Rwanda closer to ensuring that no mother or child dies from preventable causes. The United States continues to stand by Rwanda as a trusted, reliable, long-term partner in this journey,Bodipo-Mbuyamba said.
