Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP) has helped rural women to embrace financial services, easing a major financial burden for some of Rwanda’s poorest women, according to a report released yesterday.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report, validated yesterday in Kigali, on rural women economic empowerment, says the situation improved countrywide.

As of March 2015, the government programme covered a total of 130,000 households cross the country.

VUP is Rwanda’s flagship social protection programme managed by the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA) under the Ministry of Local Government.

The programme has four components; public works, cash transfers (direct support), financial services and social affairs and sensitisation.

The research focused on public works component such as terracing, fighting erosion, road construction and its impact on rural women’s economic empowerment.

"In addition to its safety-net function, VUP wages were used for a minority of female beneficiaries, as a catalyst for small investment in petty trade, brewing and selling beer, and renting plots of land. VUP payments, through saving and credit cooperatives, allowed some women to own a financial account for the first time, which exposed them to access to other financial services such as credit,” the report says.

However, it adds that women beneficiaries were not always able to retain full or partial control over their own incomes; mostly men were making these decisions.

While presenting the findings, Ana Paula De La Campos, the FAO programme advisor on strategic programme on rural poverty reduction, said the survey suggests that VUP is only partially supporting women’s economic advancement through access to temporary employment.

"Operational issues of the programme, including limited days available for beneficiaries, as well as delays in payments, hampered this potential. In addition, VUP is not capitalising enough in its strategic position to enable beneficiaries’ access to savings and credit, increase their skills for income generation and access to employment opportunities, and particularly enhancing women’s economic roles while simultaneously addressing their time constraints,” she said.

When women control additional income, their families enjoy better health, nutrition and education, experts say.

Reforms that give women equal rights can empower them to be agents of change within their communities and societies, they say.

Justin Gatsinzi, the deputy director-general of social protection at LODA, said they have been aware of women’s specific barriers to eradicate poverty and that some of the recommendations made in FAO’s research are similar to those from previous studies already being implemented.

"One of the measures taken is increasing the scope of public works so that women can work nearer to their homes, thus attending to their domestic duties as well,” he said, adding that work schedules will be made more flexible to meet women’s needs.

VUP schemes give jobs to between 70,000 and 100,000 people per year in public works with a budget allocation of between Rwf10 billion and Rwf15 billion.

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