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Rwanda joins global alliance for children’s social care reform

By IGIHE
On 22 January 2025 at 06:55

Rwanda has joined a global alliance focused on social care reform for children, launched last week by the UK’s Foreign Secretary, David Lammy. Rwanda is one of six countries from four continents to join the alliance, which aims to advocate for sustainable and lasting reforms in children’s social care worldwide.

Other partners include Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, Paraguay, the Philippines, UNICEF, and the UN Special Representative on Violence Against Children.

British High Commissioner Alison Thorpe expressed her delight at Rwanda’s participation from the outset of this crucial campaign. She commended the Rwandan government for its dedication to children’s social care reform, particularly through its support for the Kigali Declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform in 2022.

“I look forward to building on this momentum, jointly championing this cause, so we can strengthen the global alliance and improve the lives of children everywhere,” Thorpe said.

Rwanda’s Tubarerere Mu Muryango (TMM) programme, part of the national childcare reform strategy, has already achieved significant milestones in de-institutionalizing children.

By the end of 2022, over 90% of children without disabilities who had been in institutional care since 2012 had transitioned to family-based care.

The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to collaborating with the UK to launch and promote the global campaign.

This commitment aligns with Rwanda’s belief that “caring for vulnerable children is a responsibility of the whole community” and that every child deserves to grow up in a family setting.

The UK Foreign Secretary emphasized the importance of ensuring that every child worldwide has the right to a safe and loving family environment.

The alliance aims to strengthen families to prevent child separation and promote alternative forms of family-based care, such as kinship care, where a child is cared for by a relative or close friend.

This alliance represents a significant step in the UK’s broader campaign to end the institutionalization of children, which is up to five times more costly than family-based care.

Later this year, the campaign will advance with the launch of a Global Charter to further this mission.

Rwanda has joined the global alliance for children’s social care reform.

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