Rwanda: Nutrition Profile

Speeches Shim

The Gimbuka project in Rwanda works to reduce stunting in children under 5. Local crops are used to prepare nutritious foods.
  • Rwanda

    Flag of Rwanda

  • Population

    11.92 Million

  • Pop. Under 5

    1.74 Million

  • % Stunting

    38% Of Children Under 5

  • % Underweight

    9% Of Children Under 5

Photo credit: Amy Cotter/USAID

Malnutrition in childhood and pregnancy has many adverse consequences for child survival and long-term well-being. It also has far-reaching consequences for human capital, economic productivity, and national development overall. The consequences of malnutrition should be a significant concern for policy makers in Rwanda, where 38 percent or 661,200 children under 5 years suffer from chronic malnutrition (stunting or low height-for-age) and 37 percent or 643,800 suffer from anemia, according to the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).

USAID Programs: Accelerating Progress in Nutrition

As of January 2018, the following USAID programs were active in Rwanda. Rwanda’s Feed the Future Multi-Year Strategy identifies market linkages, infrastructure, nutrition, innovation, and policy as focal points for support and intervention. The strategy focuses on enabling improvements for private-sector-led growth in the agriculture sector and on building capacity within value chains to improve the competitiveness of farmers and commodities. This demand-driven approach directly supports Rwanda’s Vision 2020 strategy, which foresees a transformation from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture. The Feed the Future approach also links directly to Rwanda’s new 5-year Strategic Program for Agricultural Transformation IV, and is fully aligned with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework.

  • Hinga Weze (Cultivate for Better Production)
  • Twiyubake -The Improved Services for Vulnerable Populations (ISVP)
  • Caritas Rwanda USAID/Gimbuka
  • Gikuriro-Integrated Nutrition and WASH Activity (INWA)
  • FXB (USAID/Turengere Abana)
  • African Evangelical Enterprise (USAID/Ubaka Ejo)
  • Rwanda Social Marketing Program (RSMP)
  • Tworore Inkoko Twunguke (Let Us Raise Chickens for Profit)
  • Rwanda Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth (PSDAG) Project
  • Feed the Future Rwanda Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) for Income and Nutrition
  • Scaling Up Iron-Rich Beans
  • GAIN (Market Place for Nutritious Foods)
  • Food for Peace (FFP)

 

For more information, read the Rwanda country profile [PDF, 242KB].