The disbursement was the result of successful achievements of the third set of 9 policy actions by the Government of Rwanda.

The trigger-based disbursement of the loan has been divided into three tranches in which the first tranche equivalent to US$36 million (40%) was disbursed in December 2019 and the second tranche (US$28 million) in July 2020. The total disbursement from the start of the program amounts 10 billion Japanese yen (approximately US$ 91 million).

Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN), Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana has commended the achievements made in the policy actions and a good cooperation between the Government of Rwanda and Japan through JICA.

The program is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), National Child Development Agency (NCDA) and Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC).

The key achievements during the third tranche include the initial development of the Rwanda’s first Food Composition Table, district-level planning and implementation of Nutrition Dense Food (NDF) production, Nutrition-sensitive crop calendars, development of Community-Based Nutrition Program (CBNP) Implementation Guidelines, and introduction of Child Scorecard as a tool to monitor access to nutrition related services.

The Program targeted 12 Districts with the highest stunting rates; namely Rutsiro, Rubavu, Burera, Nyaruguru, Ngororero, Nyamagabe, Nyamasheke, Gakenke, Gisagara, Gicumbi, Musanze and Ngoma District.

Mr. Maruo Shin, the Chief Representative of JICA Rwanda Office hailed the achievement and appreciated the efforts made by the relevant ministries, agencies and local government authorities in Rwanda for successful implementation of the program despite the challenges brought by COVID-19 global pandemic. He also reassured the JICA’s commitment to its continuous support in eradicating malnutrition and fighting against stunting in Rwanda.

It is highly expected that the program contributes for improvement of nutritious status of Rwandan people and leads to the socio-economic development of the country.

The percentage of stunted children under the age of 5 dropped from 38 per cent to 33 per cent in the last five years, according to the Rwanda Demographic Health Survey 2019/2020 published by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda on 3rd December 2020. Photo MIGEPROF