The 2020-19 Rwanda Demographic Health Survey (RDHS), designed to provide data for monitoring the population and health situation in Rwanda, was released on December 14.
It is the sixth such study conducted in the country since 1992 and it seeks help policymakers in designing and evaluating development programmes and strategies.
The survey report was carried out by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
Below are the 10 key highlights of the report:
1. Under-5 mortality rate
According to the survey, the under-5 mortality rate has decreased since 2014-15 (from 50 to 45 deaths per 1,000 live births). However, there has been no noticeable change in infant mortality which has increased from 32 to 33 per 1,000 births.
The infant mortality rate (death of children before their first birthday) in Rwanda is 33 deaths per 1,000 live births for the 5-year period of the survey. This implies that about 1 in 22 children in Rwanda die before their 5th birthday.
2. Spousal violence against women, men
The prevalence of any spousal violence among ever-married women increased from 40% in 2014-15 to 46% in 2019-20 but declined slightly from 20% to 18% among men over the same period.
Among women aged 15-49, 37% have experienced physical violence since age 15 and 23% have ever experienced sexual violence. The corresponding proportions among men are 30% and 6%.
3. Disability: Widowed women and men more likely to have difficulty
Widowed women and men are more likely to have difficulty in each of the domains than their counterparts in the other marital status categories, according to 2019-20 RDHS.
For example, 54% of women and 56% of men who are widowed have difficulty seeing, while 36% of widowed women and 38% of widowed men have difficulty walking or climbing steps.
4. Stunting
33% of Rwandan children aged 6-59 months are stunted (short for their age), 1% are wasted (thin for their height), 8% are underweight (thin for their age), and 6% are overweight (heavy for their height).
Stunting varies by province, from 21% in the City of Kigali to 41% in Northern Province. However, childhood stunting has decreased in Rwanda, from 48% in 2000 to 33% in 2019-20.
5. Use of modern methods for family planning increased
The use of modern methods for family planning by married women has increased by 10 per cent between 2014-15 and 2019-20, according to the report. Use of traditional methods has remained unchanged since 1992.
Modern contraceptive use is higher among currently married women (58%) than among sexually active unmarried women (48%).
However, about a third of women (30%) who began using a contraceptive method in the 5 years preceding the survey discontinued the method within 12 months. The most common reason for discontinuation was side effects/health concerns.
6. Exposure to mass media
The level of exposure to mass media is generally low in Rwanda, according to the report. Thirty-four percent of women and 16% of men have no access to any of three specified media sources (newspaper, television, and radio) at least once a week.
On internet usage, the report revealed that urban women and men (40% and 58%, respectively) are more likely than rural women and men (8% and 17%, respectively) to have ever used the internet.
7. Maternal mortality rate
The report reveals that the lifetime risk of maternal death indicates that one in 125 women in Rwanda will die from maternal causes.
Maternal mortality includes deaths of women during pregnancy, delivery, and within 42 days of delivery excluding deaths that were due to accidents or violence.
The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) for Rwanda is 203 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births for the 5-year period before the survey. The confidence interval for the 2019-20 RDHS MMR ranges from 125 to 281 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The 2014-15 RDHS used a definition of maternal mortality that included deaths due to accidents or violence, and therefore MMR estimates are not comparable to estimates from previous surveys.
8. Percentage of women, men with no education
The percentage of females over age 6 with no education has declined slightly since 2014-15, from 19% to 15%; the percentage among males has also declined, from 13% to 11%. The median number of years of schooling has increased from 2.9 to 3.8 among women and from 3.0 to 3.7 among men
9. Drinking water, sanitation, electricity
The percentage of households with an improved sanitation facility increased from 71% in 2014-15 to 72% in 2019-20. The percentage of households using an improved source of drinking water has increased slightly since 2014-15, from 73% to 80%. 46% of households have electricity (86% in urban areas and 37% in rural areas).
10. Employment among women
According to the report, current employment among women aged 15-49 has declined over the past 5 years, from 78% in 2014-15 to 66% in 2019-20. However, the percentage of men who are currently employed has increased slightly from 85% to 87%.