Local authorities in Western Province are looking into new measures to tackle the high fertility rate, which is seen as a hindrance to families’ development.

The move follows the dissemination of findings of the fifth Rwanda Population and Housing Census by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) in the country which was released in 2022.

In a meeting on Monday, January 29, local authorities from Western Province discussed new measures to address the high fertility rate, including conducting in-depth studies. This is in response to the issue of families having many children despite their financial situation.

According to figures by NISR, Rusizi tops other districts in Western Province followed by Nyamasheke and Rubavu, and ranked first across the country with the highest fertility rate of 4.5.

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Speaking on the issue during the interaction session, the Mayor of Rusizi, Anicet Kibiriga, emphasised the need for a detailed study on why some parts of Rusizi District still are characterised by high birth rate, rather than relying on data from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda because it doesn’t highlight the reasons behind it.

"We need a qualitative study to learn reasons why families choose to have a lot of children against their source of income. For us, in Rusizi, we’re going to conduct our study to take new measures to address the problem. If you see fertility rate and family planning programmes in place, there is a coalition,” he said.

Kibiriga stated that Bugarama, a region bordering DR Congo and Burundi, and Nkombo Island are the areas with the highest fertility rates within Rusizi District.

Narcisse Mupenzi, the Mayor of Nyamasheke District, also believes that a negative mindset is a fundamental reason why the Western Province is ranked second in the country for having the highest fertility rate, which stands at 3.8, the same as the Southern Province.

"The high birth rate can be caused by beliefs and mindset even though they’re not based on any [present] deep study,” he said.

"And most importantly, Nyamasheke, with a 4.2 rate, is not over inhabited so people are not employed or don’t have other things to occupy them. There is a need for mobilisation, for birth control, especially for adults, to use all contraceptive methods and know the consequences of having a lot of children on their livelihoods and national development.”

Increasing access to contraceptive methods and raising awareness within the communities is another solution that Venant Habarugira, Director of Census (NISR), suggested during a panel session.

"There is a need for support and increasing the availability of contraceptive methods and raising education level among women and young girls,” he noted.

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According to Lambert Dushimimana, Governor of Western Province, working with other stakeholders including faith-based organisations is one of the initiatives aimed at taking community mobilisation to a lower level.

"Fertility is very high in Rusizi, Nyamasheke, and Rubavu according to the report, yet, most importantly, we need to continuously mobilise our population on effects of overpopulation while the land is not expanded, as well as their source of income remains the same. We need to come down to their communities,” he said.

Data by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda show that Eastern Province has the highest fertility rate at 4.0, followed by Western and Southern provinces at 3.8, Northern Province at 3.3, and Kigali City at 3.0. As of now, the national fertility rate is at 3.6.