Rwanda

This country page features an interactive, icon-based data dashboard providing a national-level overview of the status of children’s care and care reform efforts (a “Country Care Snapshot”), along with a list of resources and organizations in the country.

List of Organisations

demographic_data

Demographic Data

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12.63 million
Total Population
World Bank 2019
6.35 million
People
Total Population Under 18
Estimate
50.3%
Population Under 18
 
DHS, 2017
4.3
People
Mean Household Size
DHS 2015
37.6%
Prevalence of Female-Headed Households
 
2017 MIS
Low-Income Country
World Bank GNI Status
World Bank, 2019
38.2%
Living Below Poverty Line
 
World Bank, 2016
43.7
GINI Coefficient
World Bank, 2016
0.536
Human Development Index
UNDP, 2019

childrens_living_arrangement

Children's Living Arrangements

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%
Country
 
NO SOURCE GIVEN
63.9%
Living with Both Parents
 
DHS 2019-2020
24.5%
Living with One Parent
 
DHS 2019-2020
10.2%
Living with Neither Parent
 
DHS 2019-2020
%
Effective
 
NO SOURCE GIVEN

children_living_without_bio

Children Living Without Biological Parents

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10.2%
Living With a Non-Relative
 
DHS 2019-2020
79%
Both Parents Alive
 
DHS 2019-2020
17%
One Parent Dead
 
DHS 2019-2020
4%
Both Parents Dead
 
DHS 2019-2020

Children at Risk of Separation

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44%
Children living below poverty line
 
Situation Analysis of Children in Rwanda, 2017
i
The percentage of children living in poverty declined from 49 per cent to 44 per cent between 2010 and 2014.
Children with Disabilities
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Country Care Profile, 2021
i
A 2016 assessment found a significant rise in institutionalization, with some 4,339 children with disabilities in residential care facilities.
Street Connected Children
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Country Care Profile, 2021
Children on the Move
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Country Care Profile, 2021
i
Children make up more than half of the refugee population, with approximately 12% of children unaccompanied or separated.
Children Made Vulnerable by the COVID-19 Pandemic
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Country Care Profile, 2021
i
COVID-19 saw a growing number of children in poor families leaving home to beg on the streets. In response, there was a coordinated effort to remove children from living and begging on the streets which resulted in large numbers of children being identified and placed in transit centres.

Formal Alternative Care Arrangements

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0 Families/Parents
0 Children
NO SOURCE GIVEN
0 Families/Parents
0 Children
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Total Family-Based Alternative Care
- - Families/Parents
3,393 Children
i
Children placed in formal foster care from 2012 to 2021.
Country Care Profile, 2021
Foster Care
- - Foster Families/Foster Parents
533 Children
i
Children placed in formal foster care from 2012 to 2021.
Country Care Profile, 2021
Formal Kinship Care
- - Families/Parents
1,544 Children
i
Children placed in formal foster care from 2012 to 2021.
Country Care Profile, 2021
Other
- - Families/Parents
1,316 Children
i
Children placed in formal foster care from 2012 to 2021.
Country Care Profile, 2021
Total Residential Care
- - Settings
- - Children
Country Care Profile, 2021
Residential Child Care Facilities
4 Settings
386 Children
i
431 children in residential child-care facilities by April 2021 (this number does not include children with disabilities living in different residential care facilities for children, youth and adults with disabilities)
National Commission for Children, UNICEF, USAID (2019). Care Reform in Rwanda: Process and Lessons Learned 2012-2018
Residential Care Facilities for Children with Disabilities
- - Settings
2,040 Children
National Survey of Residential Centres for Children with Disabilities in Rwanda, 2020
Street Children Reintegrated into Family-Based Care
- - Settings
3,531 Children
i
The National Child Development Agency, National Rehabilitation Service, Kigali City and Districts are working regularly in facilitating the placement of street children into family-based care.
National Child Development Agency (2021). National Rehabilitation Service report
Lancet Global Study Estimate of Children Living in Institutional Care
17,933 Children
Desmond, et al, 2020

adoption

NO DATA AVAIABLE
Country
NO SOURCE GIVEN
0
children
Domestic Adoption
NO SOURCE GIVEN
i
National statistics on the number of children placed in domestic adoption are not available. Statistics are kept at the sector level and not aggregated to the national level.
3
children
Inter-country Adoption
NCD report
i
The country has allowed inter-country adoption, 2017.
NO DATA AVAIABLE
Effective
NO SOURCE GIVEN

Parental Survivorship

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91.9%
Children with Both Parents Alive
 
DHS 2019-2020
6.3%
Children with One Parent Alive
 
DHS 2019-2020
0.4%
Children with Both Parents Dead
 
DHS 2019-2020

Progress Indicators

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Country
 
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Effective
 
NO SOURCE GIVEN
NO DATA AVAILABLE
Social Welfare Spending
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Alternative Care Policy in Line with the 2009 Guidelines
 
No Data
Strategic Plan for the Integrated Child Rights Policy 2019-2024; Law No. 32/2016
Centralised Authority on Adoption
 
No Data
National Child Development Agency
i
The NCD has the primary role in the processing, approval, monitoring and oversight of inter-country adoption, and has been designated Central Authority as per the requirements of the HCIA.
Commitment to Deinstitutionalistion
 
Yes
Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) pilot deinstitutionalisation project, initiated in 2012
i
The pilot deinstitutionalization project implemented by the non-governmental organization, Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) in 2012, with the support and oversight of the Rwandan government authorities at the national and district levels, played a critical role in providing convincing evidence that deinstitutionalization processes were possible in Rwanda. (Country Care Profile, 2021).
Comprehensive Child Protection Law
 
No Data
Law No. 71/2018 of 31 August 2018 relating to the protection of the child
Continuum of Alternative Care Services Available
 
Yes
Foster Care, Kinship Care, Short-Term Foster Care, Domestic Adoption, Supervised and Supported independent living, Emergency Foster Care, Informal Family-Based Care, Guardianship, Temporary Shelter for Street-Connected Children, Specialised foster care for children with disabilities, Intercountry Adoption, Residential Care (as a last resort)
Data System
 
Partly
Information Management System for reintegrated children and the Inshuti Z’Umuryango digital reporting system are available.
i
"To date, several different mechanisms have been used to collect information related to child protection and care, but these have yet to be collated into one central database...As part of the care-reform process, a mapping exercise on existing information management systems was conducted. The aim of the study was to develop a clear understanding of the current child protection information system in Rwanda, including a comprehensive mapping and analysis for the current or planned case management and information systems across different government departments, NGOs, universities and other key stakeholders. Findings and recommendations validated in July 2013 were intended to be used to inform the process of establishing a comprehensive information management system within the NCC." (Country Care Profile, 2021)
Existence of a Regulatory Body and Regulatory System
 
Yes
NCD
i
"Specifically related to the child-care reform process, the NCDA is responsible for overseeing the creation of a system of alternative care options and the strengthening of the national child-protection system. This includes developing, coordinating and monitoring new regulations related to childcare." (Country Care Profile, 2021)
Gatekeeping Mechanism/Policy
 
Yes
Inshuti Z’Umuryango (IZU)
i
"Gatekeeping mechanisms were initially developed and piloted in several districts and sectors across the country…Beginning in 2015, the government launched community based child protection structures (IZU) that include para social work volunteers responsible for identifying, monitoring and following up at risk families in the community and families where a child has been reintegrated or has been placed in foster care at village, cell and sector levels." (Country Care Profile, 2021)
Means of Tracking Progress with Reforms
 
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN
i
Monitoring and evaluation procedures are in place.
Moratorium on Admission into Institutions for Children Under 3
 
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Moratorium on New Institutions
 
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN
National Action Plan to Guide Reforms
 
Mostly
Cabinet Brief: Strategy for National Child Care Reform (2012); Tubarerere Mu Muryangyo!
i
Led by the government, with active support from UNICEF, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and faith-based organizations (FBOs), the Tubarerere Mu Muryangyo! (TMM) initiative is the guiding framework for the reform process and drives the implementation of the national strategy for care reform. However, "children with disabilities were not specifically included in the initial phase of the TMM. The second phase of the TMM marked a concerted effort to reunify children with disabilities and return children with disabilities to their families." (Country Care Profile, 2021)
National Standards of Care
 
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Prevention of Separation Services Available
 
Yes
NO SOURCE GIVEN
i
"TMM put in place a range of mechanisms to prevent children from entering residential care facilities. This includes improved entry requirements and case management, awareness raising, the development of emergency foster care, and close monitoring of remaining facilities to ensure that new children do not enter care. These efforts have been enhanced by mass closure of institutions, a two-year mass media campaign, the development of emergency foster care, work with teenage parents, and closely monitoring remaining facilities to ensure new children do not enter care."
Support for Careleavers (in Legislation and in Practice)
 
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN

social_work_force

Social Service Workforce

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Workers
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Country
--
Workers
Country Care Profile, 2021
No. of government social service workers with child protection responsibilities (per 100,000 children)
i
"The TMM led to the recruitment, specialized training and deployment of 34 social workers and 34 psychologists at the district level to support the reintegration of children and the closure of residential care facilities. Almost half of these professionals (30) have been integrated into the civil service and are a permanent part of the government child protection system, and report to the Gender and Family Promotion Officer, the focal point of MIGEPROF at the district level."
Social Work Degree Programmes
 
Yes
Country Care Profile, 2021
Social Service Workforce Training
 
Yes
Country Care Profile, 2021
Workers
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Effective
A national workforce assessment and analysis carried out within the past four years
 
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN
A system of licensing/registration of social service professionals
 
No Data
NO SOURCE GIVEN

key_stakeholders

Key Stakeholders

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Country
Government
Civil Society Organisations
Effective

Other Relevant Reforms

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Effective
NO SOURCE GIVEN
Social Protection
i
Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP) cash transfer program. The new Social Protection Policy was being drafted at the time of writing of the Rwanda Country Care Profile (Better Care Network and UNICEF, 2015) by a multisectoral group and includes children as a primary target group for social protection initiatives.
Source: Better Care Network, 2015

drivers_of_institutionalisation

Drivers of Institutionaliziation

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Country
Push Factors
Pull Factors
Effective

key_research_and_information

Key Data Sources

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Country
Effective

Displaying 101 - 110 of 186

List of Organisations

Rwanda's National Commission for Children (NCC),

Rwanda's National Commission for Children (NCC) is implementing the Integrated Child Rights Policy (ICRP), which will continue support for more coordinated and comprehensive services for children, including the national Child Care Reform program and addressing issues pertaining to children living and working on the street. 

Olivia Muragijimana - The New Times,

Over 3000 children from orphanages in Rwanda have been reintegrated into family-based care since 2012, reports an official from the National Children's Council. 

Jonna Karlsson - UNICEF,

This UNICEF presentation describes the need for social service workforce strengthening in East and Southern Africa and presents recommendations based on a case example from Rwanda. 

Elsa Laurin - UNHCR,

This UNHCR presentation provides an overview of alternative care for children in East African refugee contexts.

Moses Opobo - The New Times ,

The first week of June 2017 marked the conclusion of the three month 'Tubarerere Mu Muryango' (Let’s raise children in families) campaign in Rwanda. A joint effort led by Mashirika Performing Arts and Media Company, the campaign used theater, artwork and poetry to reach out to parents, caregivers and local authorities to promote support for Rwanda's recent efforts toward safe reintegration of children in orphanages/institutions into family based care in the country.

Emily Delap, Camilla Jones, Helen Karki Chettri -- Children and Youth Services Review,

This article discusses the results of a cross-country research project in Sub-Saharan Africa regarding the impact of social protection on loss of parental care, support to foster or kinship care and quality of care and wellbeing in Sub-Saharan Africa.

CPC Learning Network,

CPC Learning Network Associate Director, Mark Canavera, Janis Ridsdel from UNHCR, Sara Lim from UNICEF, and Nathalie Bussien, UNHCR Child Protection Officer in Rwanda will host a webinar on “Determining Acceptable Customary Caregiving Arrangements with Congolese Refugees in Rwanda” on Monday, December 19 from 9:00-10:30 am EDT. 

Saeed Rahman, Simran Chaudhri, Lindsay Stark and Mark Canaver -- Forced Migration Review,

According to this article from Forced Migration Review, when the majority of aid comes from external sources, it can cause those who receive the aid to feel powerless. 

Michel Nkurunziza - AllAfrica.com,

Civil society organizations and the National Children's Council (NCC) have appealed for more commitment and support to abandoned babies.

Family for Every Child,

Family for Every Child, in partnership with the Centre for Social Protection at the Institute for Development Studies, just announced the launch of its Cash for Care: Making Social Protection Work for Children’s Care and Well-being Report.