1. Rwanda: Reducing Malnutrition and Enhancing Food Security Republic of Rwanda

2. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Overview  Introduction  Rwanda  Strategic Orientation  Health Focus  Agriculture Focus  Specific Interventions  Lessons & Challenges 2

3. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Rwanda  Rural life is the Backbone of Rwanda: Over 80 percent of the population directly depend on Agriculture for their livelihoods  Poverty is a challenge: Poverty headcount (MDG 1c) is at 56.9% (2005) from 60.4% (2000). However, large reduction expected for 2011 when new data will be available.  Land availability is scarce: the average landholding is around 0.7 hectares, with high population density with of 395 inhabitants per square km.  However, Malnutrition prevalence has been greatly reduced. The MDG target will be met in 2011. 15.8% percent in 2005 where malnourished from a baseline of 24.5% in 2000. Given increased efforts, the target of 14.5% for 2015 will be met by 2011. 3

4. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Nutrition  Malnutrition: any disorder or condition resulting from excess or deficient nutrient intake. In Rwanda, under nutrition takes the forms of wasting, underweight, stunting or micronutrient deficiencies  Childhood Malnutrition has irreversible negative impacts on cognitive development, health and economic development  Malnutrition increases the livelihood of a poverty-traps (poor are excluded from labour market because due to lack of capacity and therefore are trapped)  In Rwanda, agriculture has potential to be the key catalyst in reducing malnutrition through food security and job creation  In Rwanda, health services to focus on the ‘window of opportunity’ (minus 9 to 24 months) for interventions to improve Rwandan livelihoods 4

5. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Context  Rwandan has implemented a multi-pronged approach to food security and malnutrition reduction in Rwanda: agriculture and health lead the entry-points  Key policy framework:  National Multi-Sectoral Strategy to Eliminate Malnutrition in Rwanda (2010- 2013) - Ministry of Health led strategy on malnutrition elimination. The key target is to reduce malnutrition by 30% by 2013 from 2010.  Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture in Rwanda (PSTA II) (2008-2012)– Guiding strategic document for the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources. This aims to achieve food security and increase agricultural- related incomes in alignment with the Economic Development Poverty Reduction Strategy as well as CAADP, MDGs and Vision 2020  Health Sector Strategic Plan (2009-2012)- Ministry of Health’s guiding document. This aims to enable Rwanda to meet the health MDGs. 5

6. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Health Focus  Despite vast improvements relative to MDG targets (reducing under-five mortality and infant mortality rates), malnutrition is of heightened priority in Rwanda.  First National Nutrition Summit was held in Rwanda in November 2009 to focus attentions to reduce malnutrition: NSEM 2010-2013  Headline policy priority: to reduce acute malnutrition rate by 30 percent by 2012 from 2010. Reduce malnutrition in children aged 6 - 59 months: reducing wasting from 4.6% to 1%; stunting from 52% to 36.4%; and underweight from 15.8%to 10.3%. Thinness among pregnant and lactating mothers (7% to 4.5%)  The NSEM will draw from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Agriculture 6

7. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Agriculture Focus  Government of Rwanda’s strategy on agriculture::  Irrigation: Less Dependence on Rain-fed Agriculture & Improving the productivity of the land  Crop Intensification Program: supporting production through access to inputs, knowledge increase through extension & farmer field schools, encouraging market linkages locally and regionally, and effectively consolidating the land  Improving Post-Harvest Activities: Need to secure crops in post-production phase, storage should be well-managed and less waste  Integrating Livestock into the Farm: Supporting Nutrition and Soil Productivity  Innovation through an Active Research Agenda: Drive Growth in Production and increase nutritional rich varieties 7

8. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Production Push 8

9. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Translating into energy gains  Historical context is remarkable given the alarming low-levels in 2001.  The production increases have translated into increased availability of energy, proteins and lipids: this forms the foundation to effectively fight malnutrition  Now the challenge is to ensure that distribution mechanisms and that knowledge is there through interventions 9

10. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Food Security Trend 10 20102007

11. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Specific Government of Rwanda Interventions to reduce Malnutrition  The One-Cow Program:  Distributes cows to poor/vulnerable households with less than 0.7 hectares – currently 113,334 families have received cows  Integrated Livestock Management: Productive assets used for nutritional gain and increased fertilization of smallholders land. This occurs with a policy of zero-grazing which is sustainable for smallholders  Multiplier Effect: A resulting offspring, the female-cow, is then passed on to another poor family – part of One-Cow arrangement  Externalities: Encouragement of the diary industry has led to milk production doubling since 2006 11

12. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Specific GoR Interventions to reduce Malnutrition  Kitchen Gardens: Vulnerable families identified and assisted through knowledge-campaigns on nutrition, setting up kitchen gardens to improve smallholder nutrition by encouraging a culture of vegetable and fruit consumption.  Fish Farming: Small-scale fish ponds have expanded under donor-financed program. Represents important intake of proteins and lipids for those in poverty  One Cup of Milk: Piloting the intervention of school milk feeding programs, utilizing government-supply chains to schools to reduce malnutrition and to engender milk consumption in Rwanda 12

13. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Specific GoR Interventions to reduce Malnutrition  Increasing sensitization at local level : Information campaigns through Ministry of Health Community Health Workers (operating at the district level) on breastfeeding and good nutrition have been aggressively rolled-out.  Institutionalization of malnutrition concerns: malnutrition protocol management, equipping villages with scales, included in school education, and encouraging bottom-up process of districts formulating their own nutrition intervention plan. 13

14. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 Lessons & Challenges  Integrated approach: Recognize the need for an holistic approach (multi-sectoral) to reducing malnutrition in Rwanda.  Contributing factors: Malnutrition can be further reduced and this will have positive implications on poverty reduction and income-generation, allowing attainment of MDG (2015).  Focus on Poor-Performing Areas: Improvements in Data allow the Government of Rwanda to intervene more effectively (for example Kitchen Gardens in the South and Western Province of Rwanda)  Rwanda efforts represent hope for the region: from a picture of food aid and near starvation in some areas of the country in the 1990s, to one that is rapidly reducing malnutrition and achieving food security. 14

15. Republic of Rwanda, 2011 THANK YOU 15