Authorities in Western Province have pledged to develop disaster resilience – the ability of people, and communities, to prevent, withstand, adapt to, and recover from the impacts of disasters – as one sure way to effectively alleviate poverty in the region.

This commitment was made during a dissemination workshop of the seventh Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV 7) for Western Province held on Wednesday, May 21, in Rubavu District.

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Speaking to The New Times, Jean Bosco Ntibitura, the Governor of Western Province, said that an exercise of mapping key disaster-prone areas is underway. "We are working with the Ministry of Emergency Management through mapping most affected areas, and secondly, evacuating people from high-risk zones, as well as improving infrastructure to building resilience," stated Ntibitura.

According to him, the geographical features of the province increase the risks of experiencing landslides which considerably impact people&039;s livelihoods.

"Considering our region’s location, which is in an area of hilly terrain, we are largely affected by disasters. For example, we face landslides in Nyabihu, Ngororero, and Rutsiro districts which distress our population," Ntibitura added.

"Most of our infrastructure, houses, and bridges are regularly destroyed, leading to budget diversion into recovery programmes instead of improving other security issues."

According to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), Western Province has the highest extreme poverty rate, 37.4 percent, followed by Southern Province with 34.7 percent, as per EICV 7 findings. The survey indicated that lack of employment is a key challenge contributing to the high poverty rate as well as unexpected shocks.

"The region has many working-age people but who remain unemployed, a key factor for Western Province’s high poverty rate. The number becomes a burden as they depend on others, "said James Byiringiro, a survey manager at NISR.

"There is a need to create jobs and allow people to be productive. Secondly, engaging people in saving programmes is also important to mitigate any unexpected shocks. We also encourage youth not to wait for white-collar jobs."

In Rutsiro, for example, various interventions are also underway to respond to findings from the EICV 7. The interventions include modernizing the agriculture sector, which employs many rural communities, according to Emmanuel Uwizeyimana, the regional officer in charge of economic development.

"We are boosting the tourism sector and transitioning from sustainable agriculture to agribusiness as economic activities to create more jobs for our population, including youth who depend on agriculture," he said.

"We are a rural district that still has various opportunities to combat poverty."

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Checking the school dropout rate is another measure authorities in Western Province pledged to decrease, aiming to address the illiteracy rate.