Rwanda
- 69.6 years
- life expectancy
- 32.4%
- of children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition
- 13.2 million
- population
Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, growing at 2.3 percent annually. In the past two decades, the Government has recorded significant achievements in poverty reduction, gender equality, environmental sustainability, education and public health, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The country’s economy remains largely dependent on agriculture, with 69 percent of rural households involved in small-scale farming on small plots of land. Irregular rainfall, drought, floods, pests and diseases, together with intense competition for agricultural land, continue to affect food security.
Over 38 percent of Rwanda’s population lives in poverty, and nearly one fifth is food insecure. Nearly a third of children under 5 have chronic malnutrition.
The World Food Programme (WFP) provides food and nutrition assistance to refugees and supports the implementation of national priorities for achieving zero hunger and sustainable development. WFP also works with the Government to make the latter’s social protection system more inclusive and shock responsive, in line with Rwanda’s national planning processes and development programmes.
What the World Food Programme is doing in Rwanda
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Food assistance to refugees and returnees
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WFP provides cash-based transfers to nearly 120,000 refugees in five camps, and an average of 150 Rwandan returnees per month, so they can buy food of their choice. Around 6,600 asylum seekers receive food assistance until their registration and allocation to individual shelters. We provide school meals for children, including those from host communities around the camps, to support their education and health. When disasters strike, we provide people with immediate food and nutrition assistance. Rwandan refugees returning home are also supported, to help them re-integrate into their communities.
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Resilience building for climate-related shocks and social protection
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WFP is improving community resilience to disasters by supporting Government programmes for communities to build assets such as land terracing, and by restoring marshland and strengthening national social protection programmes. WFP works with the Government to improve its emergency preparedness and response policy framework and systems, and on strengthening disaster risk management approaches and systems. WFP is supporting smallholder farmers in improving their agricultural and post-harvest practices, as well as access to finance and diverse markets.
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Home-grown school feeding
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WFP plays a dual role in Rwanda: providing technical assistance and capacity strengthening to the Government’s National School Feeding Programme on nutrition, food safety and quality, as well as managing daily nutritious school meals to 30,000 pre-primary and primary students across 32 institutions. Smallholder farmers supply fresh produce to schools, which benefits the local economy. WFP is also supporting the government’s development of a National School Feeding Strategy.
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Improving nutrition
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WFP is supporting children aged under 5, adolescents, and pregnant and nursing women and girls, through improved access to nutritious foods, to reduce chronic malnutrition. WFP supports government policies and priorities in nutrition education, supply chain management, vulnerability analysis, and monitoring and evaluation. WFP provides additional specialized nutritious food, for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, to vulnerable groups.
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Food systems transformation
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WFP helps smallholder farmers, especially women, to increase their food production and access to markets. Measures include strengthening smallholder farmer cooperatives, improving access to finance and predictable markets, implementing initiatives to reduce post-harvest losses, and providing access to inputs and services for an improved quality of grains and legumes. WFP also links farmers to potential commercial buyers, as well as to government-led programmes in fortification and home-grown school feeding. In addition.
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Emergency preparedness and response
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WFP is primed to support the Government and the humanitarian community with supply chain services and expertise, in response to an emergency. WFP strengthens preparedness efforts for disaster response, to minimize the impact on communities.
Rwanda news releases
Go to pagePartners and Donors
Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in Rwanda is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:
Belgium
Canada
European Commission (ECHO & INTPA)
France
Friends of Japan / Japan Association for the World Food Programme
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Find out more about the state of food security in Rwanda
Visit the food security analysis pageOperations in Rwanda
Contacts
Office
SONARWA Compound, Ex-TRAFIPRO Kicukiro P.O. Box 1150 Kigali, Rwanda
Kigali
Rwanda
Phone
+ 250 788142000
Fax
+250 87625