Rwanda has experienced a rise in death rates, with latest statistics from the National Institute of Statistics Rwanda (NISR) showing an increase from 41.8 per cent in 2023 to 46.1 per cent in 2024. According to the Rwanda Vital Statistics Report 2024 by NISR, 36,021 deaths were recorded last year, with 122.7 male deaths for every 100 female deaths. Of the total deaths registered, 45.9 per cent occurred inside health facilities while 54.1 per cent occurred outside health facilities. Out of all deaths that were registered in health facilities, 42.9 per cent were a result of communicable diseases, 47.7 per cent were due to non-communicable diseases, and 9.4 percent were a result of external causes like injuries. ALSO READ: Why are men reluctant to seek help for mental health issues? On the other hand, among community-based deaths, non-communicable diseases are even more prominent, accounting for 59.3 per cent, followed by communicable diseases at 28.4 per cent, and injuries at 12.3 per cent. According to the report, the proportion of deaths due to communicable diseases is decreasing while non-communicable diseases are rising across all age categories. On the other hand, external causes and injuries were notably prevalent among males aged 20 to 29 compared to other groups. Prioritise mental health Christelle Ishimwe, a clinical psychologist, observed that social norms and mental health are key but often overlooked factors behind higher male mortality rates. ALSO READ: The silence of men suffering from mental health issues Ishimwe pointed out that one of the reasons that would weaken males’ immune system is societal responsibilities and bearing a lot emotionally, without letting it out. From a young age, boys are conditioned not to express emotion. They're told not to cry, to be strong. As they grow, they internalize this expectation and carry emotional burdens in silence, she said. Ishimwe highlighted that when men are groomed like this while growing up, they develop a culture of holding back their emotions, especially sad ones, as they fear being perceived as weak by the community. It gets worse as they grow up to take on family responsibilities, where almost the entire household depends on them. ALSO READ: Men and mental health: Why it matters that we talk about it “For example, if a man was facing domestic abuse, they would hardly report to the police. Even when they open up about it to other men, they laugh at them,” she said. “Therefore, that makes it rare for men to seek help from professional psychologists, and even when they do, they don’t explicitly share it because they feel like it carries a weight of guilt.” She underscored that emotional suppression among men for a long time would also weaken their immune system, making them more vulnerable to stress-related illnesses or other diseases like non-communicable diseases. She emphasised that stress could lead to hypertension, stroke, and diabetes, among others, which are among leading causes of deaths among Rwandan men, according to the report. High death rates among men The report ranks stroke as the 8th leading cause of death for males, accounting for 4.2 percent of male deaths in the community. Suicide rates also raise a concern. Data from the Ministry of Health shows approximately 9.5 suicide deaths per 100,000 people annually, with men three times more likely to die by suicide than women, according to the World Health Organization's 2021 findings. Patrick Nshimiyimana, Population Register specialist at NISR, noted that even though the report shows high death rates for men, it does not extensively record all the numbers to draw final conclusion. He noted that the report was based only on a number of registered deaths, which men dominated, but pointed out that there is yet to come a comprehensive thematic report to offer full details on mortality rates. “Non-communicable diseases remain the leading cause of death overall, but we’ve also seen mental health-related conditions like epilepsy appear in the top 20 causes of death for both men and women,” he said. Epilepsy ranked 18th for males and 19th for females, which signals underlying psychological issues. Meanwhile, the proportion of deaths due to injuries and external causes declined from 11 per cent in 2023 to 9.4 per cent in 2024, the report indicates. Ishimwe urged for a cultural shift in how boys are raised. “Parents need to intentionally support boys emotionally. When a boy expresses distress, the instinct shouldn’t be to remind him to ‘man up,’ but rather to listen with empathy,” she said. She stressed that normalizing help-seeking behavior among men, whether for psychological counseling or emotional support, could significantly lower health risks and reduce suicide rates.
