The government’s efforts to fight child malnutrition and drive for improved hygiene and sanitation, especially in rural Rwanda, have received a boost of Rwf64 billion. The grant from United States Agency of International Development (USAID) and five other development partners will put the country on course to achieve its target of reducing stunting among children from 33 to 18 per cent by 2024. Daniel Ngamije, the Minister of Health, said the money will fund two projects that seek to improve maternal, infant and child nutrition, development, functional and health outcomes as well as access to clean water and improved hygiene. The two five-year projects, Gikuriro Kuri Bose (Inclusive Nutrition and Early Childhood Development) and Isoko y’Ubuzima (The Thrive WASH) will be implemented in 10 most needing districts. They include Kayonza, Ngoma, Nyabihu, Nyanza, Kicukiro, Nyarugenge, Rwamagana, Burera, Rulindo, and Nyamasheke district. According to the 2020 Demographic and Health Survey, stunting is at 33 per cent nationwide with 36 per cent of children in rural areas stunted compared to 20 per cent in urban areas. Stunting generally increases with age, peaking at 40 per cent among children aged 24-35 months, according to the study by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. It is believed to be caused by not eating enough or eating foods that lack growth-promoting nutrients, and persistent infections or chronic diseases that cause poor nutrient intake. The Gikuriro Kuri Bose project worth Rwf43.7 billion is expected to reach 725,000 children under the age of six with Early Childhood Development and nutrition interventions, 820,000 women of reproductive age and 49,305 persons with disability. Ngamije said that the programme will help in educating and providing what’s necessary for people to prepare a healthy and nutritious meal, especially for children below five years old, in a sanitary manner. The Isoko y’Ubuzima project, worth Rwf21 billion, is expected to increase and sustain equitable access to and use of safe drinking water and sanitation services, hence, reducing families’ health, economic, and social burdens due to the lack of these services. The issue of poor livelihoods as a major setback for hygiene and sanitation, Ngamije said that it will be addressed by encouraging household leaders to create or join saving groups in order to afford the construction and maintenance of appropriate latrines and other hygienic materials. Deborah Maclean, the U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, said that they expect more people to have access to clean water. “With good hygiene and sanitation comes access to education for younger children, the ability of parents themselves to remain healthy and continue to care for their families.” Consolidated efforts for inclusivity in ECDs Ngamije said government looks forward to making home-based ECD a channel for implementation of these projects more inclusive, specifically for children with disabilities. “Sometimes parents are tempted to keep them at home, they don’t feel proud to bring them to school. So, we want to make sure that those kids with disabilities will not be excluded from the schools at village level (ECDs),” he said. Bringing those centres closer to their households, he said, removes the distance constraint. He elaborated that care providers in ECDs are trained to cater for kids with disabilities and they can be in touch with the nearest health facilities to assess the level of disability and orient them accordingly.
