The tragic fate of children's suffering during 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi

 The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi had a devastating impact on children, who made up 60 per cent of the victims. Many were subjected to brutal suffering and long-term consequences, witnessing and experiencing horrific events that no child should see. Children were both politically and forcefully recruited and used as a resourceful tool for killings, lacking a better understanding of their actions and consequences. They were susceptible to manipulation by propaganda that moved adults.

Young girls were raped and killed as a genocide strategy, profoundly affecting their health and safety during that period. Majority of the youth participated actively in the Genocide as members of the Interahamwe while others did so as part of the general mobilization of the civilian population.

The international community's failure to stop the Genocide was a testament to the neglect and total abandonment of civilian population and children, in particular, in the critical time of need for protection. With the appeal to the United Nations, Rwanda, a small and poor country, did not receive the urgency and assistance it needed from the international community to stop the Genocide.

The impact of the Genocide is saddening, but the gravity of genocide on children is unimaginable and unspeakable. The genocidaires shattered the future dreams of the young ones and denied them their childhood opportunities to grow in peaceful families and society. Children experienced 100 days of suffering with no food, water, and proper sanitation. They suffered from malnutrition and starvation while others died of diarrhea due to poor hygiene. Many were left terrified by what they saw, causing them mental health deterioration that transcended the traumas to the current generation born after the Genocide.

Up to now, many of the surviving children throughout Rwanda carry physical and psychological evidence and burdens of the Genocide. According to a survey of three thousand children done by UNICEF, 80 percent of children interviewed experienced a death in the family during the period of the Genocide, 70 percent witnessed a killing or an injury, 35 percent saw other children killing or injuring other children, 88 percent saw dead bodies or body parts, 31 percent witnessed rape or sexual assault, 80 percent had to hide for protection, 61 percent were threatened that they would be killed, and 90 percent believed that they would die.

Besides those who participated actively, many who managed to survive and belonged to the Tutsi families sought refuge to escape the massacres by hiding with relatives or family friends. Many Tutsi children had to flee the massacres by themselves because their parents had been killed or their families dispersed. Desperate parents separated from their children or pretended not to know them simply because of the hardship they were passing through by then. After the Genocide, it was estimated that over 300,000 children were left orphans with none or a single parent for the lucky ones.

“I was 10 years old when the Genocide happened. When my parents were killed, my brother and I followed a big crowd that was seeking refuge in the DRC. we travelled for many days on foot with no food, I didn't know where we were headed yet I was following the Genocidaire but luckily I survived but my brother didn't make it," shared a genocide survivor.

The journey of restoring hope and dignity among Rwandans at the end of the Genocide started by recognizing children as a special group that required special care and attention to compensate for the lost generation. This was a great opportunity to restore the lives of innocent children by facilitating their mental rehabilitation and offering family and alternative care and comprehensive rights to their primary needs. The strategies adopted to support the Rwandan child were effective and prevented children from suffering abuse and the horrific consequences of war. The upbringing of the new generation is evidence that the Genocidaire didn't win in the end. The young people are now born in a beautiful, safe and progressive country. The prioritization and protection of children's welfare after the Genocide gave Rwanda hope to achieve humanity again denied by the Genocidaires.

For the past several years, Rwanda was ranked among a few African nations that achieved both the Millennium Development Goals and is on track to achieve the sustainable development goals yet it had just recovered from a Genocide. This is a great example that recognizes the position children hold in the Rwandan society. It is also important to highlight that both the nation's vision 2050 and the current National Strategy for Transformation explicitly puts the rights and welfare of children at the centre of endorsed national programmes which guarantees a stable, secure and progressive future for all Rwandans starting with children.

Although Rwandans have a dark history, currently, looking at the development measures such as education, health, and survival indicators that assess the rights and welfare of a child, Rwanda could be ranked as one of the best places for a child to be born.

Another good example that justifies political commitments to the promotion and protection of the rights of children is Rwanda’s endorsement and effective implementation of international legal frameworks that protects children from all forms of abuses. Examples of these include the international convention on the rights and welfare of children, elimination of child labor, the kigali principles on protection of civilians and the Vancouver Principles on UN peacekeeping missions and the prevention of the recruitment and use of children as soldiers in armed conflict among others. The adoption of these mandates coupled with their cultural considerations of a child in society “Umwana n’umwami” led to the establishment and hosting of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security in Rwanda. The African Hub aspires for a world where children are at the heart of peace and security through prevention of the recruitment and use of children as soldiers in violence and transforming the cycles of violence.

We should all understand that Genocide was not only a military affair, and its impact was not exclusively felt by combatants. Though easy to describe, the effects of war on children are often hard to quantify and worsens in the context of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. In the case of the Genocide in Rwanda, children suffered unjustifiable weight of serious breaches of humanity and failure of international community. Rwandans and the world should work towards preventing conflict and wars from erupting in the first place for they cause and expose children to terrible and multiple violations of human rights.

Rising on Our Own: A Country Liberated from Shambles of 1994 Genocide against Tutsi

Rwanda is defined as a success story for the world. The interpretation of this proxy by external observers and experts who also witnessed the fall of a nation that spent 100 days in mass killing and lost over a million Tutsi is not a mere crowning.

Rwanda’s success story speaks to the rising of all Rwandans to rebuild a country that was left in great suffering and grieving.

In the post 1994 Genocide, the whole world closed the chapter for Rwanda. Despite the gravity of destruction and loss of lives, the country chose to follow the remaining candlelight for which no one else thought it could make a difference.
Every other year, the country concentrated on giving shape and orientation to a fallen nation and success stories were registered and are still being recorded.

The reconstruction phase was characterized by urgent need to establish effective and innovative systems across board. Education, health among many other sectors were heavily affected. Justice was an urgent demand. Rwanda’s fiscal space was unbelievably narrow in proportion to the demand for care and wellbeing for all Rwandans. This challenging situation required a quick fix and long-term solutions.

In response to these demands, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame several programs with both traditional and contemporary approaches were initiated and adopted.

Home-Grown Solutions coupled with good governance and demand for accountability became fundamentals of resurrecting a country that was off track. Embracing globalization and new technologies hugely impacted on the way Rwanda interacts with the rest of the world.

As much as Rwandans needed to improve and achieve great outcomes on human development, the agenda for peace and safety for all Rwandans was prioritized domestically and beyond.

Advancing the rights and protection of children was set as a priority and a critical element to achieving sustainable development and thus positioning Rwanda a reference country and leader on implementing Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of Recruitment and Use of Children as Soldiers in conflict zones.

Among many other things, Rwandans rose to fight poverty, strengthened local systems that support and sustain key results, built new infrastructures and enhanced capacity of its people.

“All these efforts were done in the name of humanity which Rwandans had completely lost its meaning.”

As a young girl, I remember seeing men and women rising to support and heal the sick and the wounded. Many joined construction of settlements for the homeless and the returnees using mud.

Others joined efforts in construction of schools and hospitals. A big number of volunteers willingly joined efforts to teach in schools for free. Gacaca courts took place all over the country and unity and reconciliation program in communities was largely promoted and embraced. Paying respect for the lives of the Tutsi lost in the 1994 Genocide was widely done by giving them a decent send-off. Major plans to return and resettle refugees were initiated and successfully executed.

Through the journey, Rwandans learned lessons that define who they are today and what they want to become. The three core streams of Rwanda’s success story is defined as “Uphold our history, learn from it and embrace the new vision of Rwanda” set and guided by President Paul Kagame. This slogan is a legacy for both the young generation and adults.

The journey has been long, but the outcomes speak volume. Rwandans have proved to the world their level of resilience and their determination to build even a much better future.  For those of us who have lived this experience, indeed: “There is no adequate resources and donations that would have settled the grieving and recovery of the loss Rwanda had experienced in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi”.

It is the leadership of President Paul Kagame that understood what the true consolation of this country and its people could be.

Therefore, the quantifying element to the rise of a liberated country lies on the decency and dignified life regained by Rwandans through the leader Paul Kagame.

No country, no donor could have offered this.

LEARN FROM HISTORY, DEFEND OURight Reserved.

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Home Grown Initiatives and Nation Building in Africa - The Dynamic of Social and Cultural Heritages in Rwanda

“Role of Community Health Workers in Improving and Sustaining the Health Care System in Rwanda”

The 1994 Genocide against the tutsi in Rwanda left devastated institutions and led to loss of lives of skilled personnel including those that served the health sector. The population then suffered preventable diseases and the health indicators including child and maternal mortality where among the highest in the world.

The post conflict recovery strategies prioritized the establishment of a solid health care system which promotes and implements universal and quality of care critical to affordable health care.

Over the years, health demands increasingly grew, yet the country still faced a visible gap on inadequate workforce in the health sector. This therefore called for the introduction of the Community health workers, a national and strategic homegrown initiative, a supported network of over 58,000 men and women trained volunteers committed to promote health seeking behaviors and increased uptake of essential maternal and child clinical services in the communities. Due to the programme effectiveness, their scope later expanded to accommodate other health services such as malaria treatment, identifying tuberculosis suspects and accompaniment, sensitization on family planning programmes, monitoring and reporting on cases of gender-based violence, among other duties.

CHW programme have recorded successes of saving lives of children under five and pregnant mothers who were at risk of death breaking record of reducing these two health indicators in only 2 decades by far 100% during the implementation of Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals. As a result, today the lifespan of Rwanda has increased from 47 years in 2000 to 67 years in 2023.

Death resulting from Malaria in Rwanda is increasing becoming history and active cases are treatable at village level. In 2018-19, CHW alone managed over 2 Million malaria cases in communities compared to 1 Million managed at health facilities. The same was achieved for diseases such as Tuberculosis to mention but a few. 98% of children in Rwanda receive basic vaccination and 98% of pregnant mothers attend to antenatal care visits.

CHW is one of the success stories of the effective national decentralization policy in Rwanda and the programme remains the most significant health initiative that is impactful, sustainable and replicable.

Key lessons learned from the study illustrates that

CHW succeeded because the government’s national health goals were clear and had the programme fully integrated in the health sector policy and implementation plans including budgeting. This gave the programme some level of legitimacy and credibility. The homegrown solution is aspired by the approach of Rwanda’s government to find localized solutions to their problems and that is why the aspect of volunteerism is positive.  Without this programme, Rwanda would be so far away from realizing its health care goals and development would have been slow to what we witness today.

CHW has been and remains an essential contributor to improving and sustaining health care systems in Rwanda. The programme is replicable and could be one of the transfarable tool to close health care gaps in majority of the African countries and globally.

“Development starts with life which is our collective responsibility but the CHW have outcompeted us in fulfilling this duty. We should all be proud of them” Francisca Mujawase

Thanks to the wonderful team of the professors from whom I learned a lot during the research process and for their encouragement that got my work feature in this Important book.

I thank you!

 

  

Preventing Violence against Children as a way to achieve Sustainable Peace in Africa

EVERY CHILD has the right to live up to their full potential. Children cannot reach their full potential if they are not in good health, if they do not receive an education and if they are not protected from violence. In Africa, one in every four children lives in conflict. 420 million children globally live in conflict affected areas, 14% of whom are in Africa. As wars and conflicts on the African continent and in other corners of the world increase, so too does the risk of recruitment and use of children as soldiers. In 2022 alone, six African countries were reported as conflict hotspots including Libya, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Northern Mozambique, and the North-West and South-West regions of Ethiopia and Cameroon. These conflict situations expose children to becoming both victims and perpetrators of violence.

The International Day of Peace is a great opportunity to recognise the significant efforts that have been made to create frameworks that promote and protect the rights of all children while encouraging compliance with international laws and facilitating an active change of behaviors and attitudes towards this obligation by all stakeholders. At a global level several frameworks were adopted on the subject matter including the establishment of the Convention on the Rights of The Child, and most recently the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Geneva Conventions and their two Additional Protocols. In the same spirit, the Vancouver Principles were launched in 2017 in an effort to make child protection a priority in UN peacekeeping missions. Despite efforts to encourage and promote the increased prioritisation of child protection in global peace and security, children remain victims of violence.

The recruitment and use of children as soldiers is one of the six grave violations against children in armed conflict for which perpetrators, military commanders and political leaders are meant to be held accountable by the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, national laws, and military codes of justice. Despite efforts to protect children from violence, the UN Secretary General’s most recent report on Children and Armed Conflict reported that 23,982 grave violations were committed against children globally. Reported violations affected more boys than girls affecting overall 19,165 children (13,633 boys, 5,242 girls, 290 sex unknown). The highest numbers of violations were the killing (2,515) and maiming (5,555) of 8,070 children, followed by the recruitment and use of 6,310 children and 3,945 incidents of denial of humanitarian access. Children were detained for actual or alleged association with armed groups (2,864), including those designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations, or for national security reasons. These numbers pose a serious threat to society and the future of our children.

The dynamics of conflict have changed over the course of years making it difficult for communities, policy makers and advocates to keep track of these crimes. The center of these dynamics and tactics is the use of children which is an inhumane activity and extended terror to the African child. The spread of violent extremism, growing transnational criminal networks and intercommunal violence continue to expose children to child labour, human trafficking, sexual exploitation and indoctrination by both armed forces and armed groups involved in terrorism. These dynamics challenge the protection of children.

Rwanda has framed the issue of children in armed conflict, and particularly the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, as a specific priority concern for the security sector. The country has led regional efforts to effectively implement the Vancouver Principles as a major troop contributing country to the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions and also as the host of the Dallaire Institute’s Centre of Excellence, which serves as the Institute’s regional hub on the African continent. The Centre of Excellence brings together nations from across the globe to learn about the Dallaire Institute’s prevention-oriented security sector training approach to understand the early warning signs of recruitment and improve their early response to the needs and rights of children. The Centre of Excellence is also a knowledge base and research convenor on peace and security agendas that puts the protection of children at its very core.

The Dallaire Institute has contributed to these efforts through great cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Rwanda on interventions facilitated by the Rwanda Defence Force and the Rwanda National Police. Working with Rwanda’s security forces on preventing the recruitment and use of children as soldiers in armed conflict has strengthened the capacities of the military and police to protect children from armed violence. The Dallaire Institute adopts a multi-dimensional approach to support action plans on the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers through high-level advocacy which we combine with a grassroots, community-based approach. Importantly, our community-based approach to prevention seeks to increase the accountability and responsiveness of security sector actors to the needs of the community they are mandated to protect.

The Dallaire Institute will continue to work with key partners to stress the importance of preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers. Research shows that we can’t achieve peace without protecting children from violence, an imperative to end intergeneration wars and conflicts but beyond that we need to protect children for humanity reasons to prevent the enormous impact of their participation in violence on their childhood and the adverse effects they suffer in their adult life.

Francisca Mujawase, Dallaire Institute for children, Peace and security.

Rising from a Young Statistician to a Leader

Francisca Mujawase is a Rwandan female statistician. Her score as the best student in high school earned her an opportunity to join the National University of Rwanda in the department of Applied Statistics in 2005. During her time in school, admission to the department was quite competitive with only 40 seats which required undertaking a selection test on top of the student's overall score in the first year at the University. Her performance owned her a seat in the department, which was underrepresented by female scholars. Only less than 10 percent in the 2007-2010 cohort were female. These numbers speak to the United Nations women in science report for 2019 which indicates that only 5 percent of global enrolment in mathematics and statistics are females. The Gender gap was not only visible in the student’s enrolment rates but also among lecturers. For all the academic years in the departments, I remember being taught by only 2 female lecturers. 

The newly established department of Applied Statistics in Rwanda intended to advance the Government of Rwanda's vision to build a comprehensive national statistical system and capabilities to drive the national statistical agenda. Although this was a new department, it is said that before the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda hosted one of the regional schools in Statistics Engineering representing the great lakes region. This means that the country prioritized the importance of statistics as a key pillar to building a nation for many years.

While we prepared to become statisticians, specialists and researchers, the strategic vision on the statistics development and delivery by our country and the continent was even bigger. At the university we studied statistical methods, data and metadata management and information technology. The areas of study included social, economic, population, labour and environmental statistics. These courses were complemented by leadership skills gained from the ISIBALO capacity building program.

Young statisticians were given many opportunities to acquire scientific skills, enjoyed the benefits of practicing field activities including participating in national surveys and censuses through the existing partnerships between the University of Rwanda and the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. The same was done in many other African countries. Beyond boarders, the ISIBALO capacity building programme, a continental convener for young statisticians in Africa was established under the Statistics South Africa to empower and facilitate young statisticians to become future leaders.

The ISIBALO programme positioned young scholars to participate in policy discussions and decisions on the Africa's development agenda including at events organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Centre of Statistics and their home statistics bureaus. Generally, African leaders who aspired this agenda were sure that building a pool of capable young statisticians was one of the solutions to tackling development challenges faced by the continent which couldn't at any cost be identified, solved, or measured without promoting quality statistics. 

More to the ISIBALO programe was the research agenda which inspired most of us to become young researchers even before we graduated. Participating in those high-level meetings required us to generate an elaborate research paper on development challenges affecting our countries. This approach aimed at sharpening our minds on creative thinking to come up with innovate, localized and strategic solutions to these issues. The activities also instilled in us confidence to defend our proposed actions. I remember one of our colleagues from Ghana wrote a book on statistics with specifics of macro economics and this book gave him a ticket to work as a public servant in the president’s office in Ghana.

At the high-level meetings, we also shared best practices from our individual countries. I remember a story of young statisticians in Uganda who questioned the government of Uganda through a letter on the postponement of the national census in 2010, indicating the implication of the delay on the country and the citizens.

Another excellent arrangement was the transfer of knowledge and study tours organized by the ISIBALO programme. Many of us had a chance to participate in the national census of South Africa and in our specific countries. Pairing us with senior national and international experts in the field enhanced our learning but also left us with best practices to carry back with us home.

Discussing national statistics curriculum used to be one of the heated debates whenever young statisticians gathered especially when it came to comparing curricula from English and French speaking countries. Finally, it became obvious that we had huge gaps in the content taught across the continent indicating the lack of standardization of statistical curriculums. The gaps were identified and reported to our seniors which informed the response to training standardization across the continent and within countries.

Believing in young people shouldn’t be a choice because the youth hold the future of our nations. The leaders of the organizations mentioned above understood this concept better, trusted, facilitated, and gave us all the necessary support required of us to become the best we can be. It had become a practice in the UN system and in our countries that each organized meeting or event considered representation of at least four young statisticians from Africa.

This journey of empowering young statisticians started way back in early 2000. Among the meetings we attended included the Expert Group Meeting on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics at UNECA offices in Addis Ababa, we participated in the process of assessing progress on Millennium Development Goals and at the Conference of Africa Ministers responsible for civil registration among many. We also had sideline meetings at such big events that allowed us an opportunity to present our research papers but also make a voice in the decisions taken by our leaders. Nurturing young statisticians also meant to position Africa on the global scene when it comes to the statistical agendas including platforms like the International Statistical Institute (ISI).

The first meeting I attended in 2007 under UNECA included members of the executive committee of young statisticians nominated by the Secretary General of Statistics South Africa Mr. Pali Lehlola the then President of the African Symposia on Statistical Development included Muhammed Semakula Rwanda, Habaasa Gilbert from Uganda, Gloria Mathenge from Kenya, Akhona Madlamini Nkenkana from South Africa, Aleghen Worku from Egypt, Kodzov Senu Abalo from Togo and Ahmed Maher, Amir Omar from Egypt. We had several other committees over the years to uplift our young sisters and brothers. With the support from ISIBALO, each country created a platform of young statisticians and registered in a central database to keep track the growth of the sector.

As much as governments and international organization invested a lot on us, we young statisticians understood and believed in the agenda as well. This made it easier to attain the goal set by the ISIBALO capacity building program. All the young male and female statisticians who benefited from these programs became exemplary leaders in their countries carrying on key public positions while others have served in international organizations. Many of them have attained their PHDs, others are lecturers in universities. As a young female statistician with a humble beginning, I rose to become a Director of an African Centre of Excellence, a continental hub that advance the Child Peace and Security Agenda on the continent. Being the first female graduate from my family and participating in STEM has inspired my nieces and one of them choose to do statistics at the University of Makerere. Young statisticiand attribute who they are today to the ISIBALO programme and our role in advancing the statistics agenda on the continent speaks for itself.

However, the journey isn’t over yet, young people need to be positioned better to explore their full potentials. Yes, they have the duty to make the leaders uncomfortable, but the leaders also know better what must be done. We want to see a generation of young statisticians empowered even more than we did because the world has changed a great deal since the last two decades. Yes, empowering young people requires huge investments, but the results are even bigger. Thanks to all our governments, the ISIBALO capacity building program South Africa and to all the leaders including former SG Pali Lehlola and his team, UNECA and the African Centre leadership who supported this great idea of empowering young statisticians on the African continent.

 

Preventing malnutrition among children in Rwanda during Covid-19: what has been done?

Despite widespread reductions in child poverty in Africa, malnutrition remains widespread. Rwanda is no exception. Progress has been made but more than one in every three children under five continue to be malnourished.

The recent Demographic Health Survey of 2015 [1]revealed that the prevalence of stunting (low height-for-age) among children under five dropped from 44 percent in 2010 to 38 percent in 2015. On the other hand, the nutritional data from the Rwanda 2018 comprehensive food security and vulnerability analysis report[2] indicated a slight decrease in national prevalence of stunting from 37.9 percent in 2015 to 35 percent in 2018. This report states that since 2015, Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices (IYCF) remain poor as only 17 percent of children under five achieved the minimum acceptable diet (MAD) based on dietary diversity and meal frequency. Only children between 6-23 month eating an average of three food groups per day twice a day. The same report indicates that children from poor households with food insecurity and or with three of more children under five were more likely to be malnourished. Despite the slight drop in the stunting rate recorded between 2015 and 2018, the report presents geographical location of malnutrition. Among thirty districts in the country eleven of them recorded stunting rate above the WHO critical threshold of which majority are found in the western province.

Considering these numbers, malnutrition among infants emerged as one of the vital issues discussed in the 2018 Government high level National Dialogue (Umushikirano) and was captured in the list of meeting resolutions that needed special and immediate attention. Government’s involvement in solving this health problem is a solution to putting an end to malnutrition among young children but also a long-term measure towards ensuring a healthy and a capable adult force that will sustain the economy.

In response, practical measures were adopted to boost low nutrition levels among children under five.

One such measures was the establishment of the National Early Childhood Development Programme, a separate national structure that coordinates efforts on combating malnutrition. It also included piloting and scaling up of programmes such as the Early Childhood Development Intervention Programme, the scaling up of nutrition products and the focus on first 1000 days of life (pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and children under 5 years). Having nutrition of young children prioritised in the national development strategy with defined national performance targets monitored and reported on an annual basis is a commendable step towards the overarching goal for the Social Transformation Pillar under the National Strategy for Transformation one[3] “Developing Rwandans into a capable and skilled people with quality standards of living and a stable and secure society”.

However, Covid-19 has had a big impact on all aspects of life in Rwanda and the Government must make sure that the pandemic does not derail efforts to improve the wellbeing of Rwandans children. Covid-19 is not business as usual. These are not normal times. Rwanda recorded its first COVID19 case on March 14 2020, the government imposed nationwide lockdown to avoid overwhelming the capacity of Rwanda’s health system. The lockdown put both public and private activities at a stand-still with exception of only essential services. The confinement severed social ties that normally provide a shock absorber in times of crisis. Much of the economic activities in Rwanda are informal, such workers surviving on a daily wage were hit the most and the vulnerable in this situation were children and the elderly. The Government, having noted this challenge, has responded to address the vulnerabilities exacerbated by attempts to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Response measure one: Continued provision of nutritious products and treatment among the most vulnerable groups. 

Despite the national lockdown, Rwanda has set necessary conditions needed to maintain momentum on nutrition-related actions. The nutrition-sensitive direct support program under the childhood development program is among the core categories of social protection programmes in Rwanda. The programme provides healthy diets to children under two years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers from lower wealth household quintiles – Ubudehe One and Ubudehe Two.

In normal circumstances, these nutritious commodities are distributed at health centres and the early childhood development centres. However, in response to lockdown restrictions, nutritious products have been distributed door-to-door within communities instead. Distribution is managed through decentralised structures of the Ministry of Health represented by the health centres in partnership with local government authorities and community health workers. In addition, the Government also introduced a national programme of providing three eggs per child per week for all children under five years of age. This was initially defined until June 2020 with potential to extend the timeframe. This programme launched In the Northern Province has rolled out across the country and intends to continue beyond Covid-19. By end of June, 250,000 eggs had been distributed to children across to the country costing 14 million Rwanda francs.

Response measure Two: Food Distribution among casual workers affected by Covid-19.

The Government of Rwanda, having recognised that there is a proportion of its citizenry who survive on a meager daily wage, unable to sustain themselves during the forced lockdown, and yet who have families to care for, has provided food rations for vulnerable casual workers. Rations account for household size and categories of household members as unique factors to determine the quantity and types of food to allocate per household. Households with children receive an additional ration of porridge and milk. This intervention has prevented both economic and nutrition crises during the pandemic.

Response measure Three: Securing food supply.

The government has also intervened in other sectors such as the agricultural sectors and some specific food manufacturing industries to keep them in operation, thereby preventing food shortage. These sectors are key stakeholders in the acceleration of nutrition improvement and play a crucial role in ensuring food security in the wake of the pandemic.

It is worthy to recognize the Government of Rwanda’s efforts to design and implement a national food support response plan only a week after national lockdown had been announced. Preventing hunger among children is vital for current and future wellbeing.

According to Evode Micyomyiza a nutritionist and BCC technical advisor, a one-week period of hunger may cause a child to become malnourished and at a certain age, the impact of malnutrition on the development of a child is irreversible. Some studies in Indonesia shows that for every dollar invested in the nutrition of a young child  will be returned about 48 dollars in improvement of health[4], education and economic development where as in the United Stated the returns was found to be 16 dollars for every dollar invested on child wellbeing[5].

The Government’s response during Covid-19 has helped to prevent an increase in malnutrition because of the pandemic. By doing so, the Government remains in a good position to meet its national goals defined under the social transformation pillar in the National Strategy for Transformation one “Eradicate all forms of malnutrition and other global goals on nutrition target for 2025 and a response to key relevant indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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[1] https://www.statistics.gov.rw/publication/demographic-and-health-survey-dhs-20142015-key-findings

[2] https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000103863/download/?_ga=2.224784410.1294625559.1600071161-1625625251.1600071161

[3] http://www.minecofin.gov.rw/fileadmin/user_upload/NST1_7YGP_Final.pdf

[4] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mcn.12080

[5] https://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/index_69851.html

“Let us all Strive to Give Justice to Children” A Reflection on the Day of the African Child

Every child has the right to live a healthy, protected, and supported life to live up to their full potential. However, in Africa, 1 in every 4 children lives in conflict.  Among the 375 million children impacted by conflict, 14% of them are in Africa.The Day of the African Child is a great opportunity to recognize significant contribution achieved at continental and national levels in promoting and protecting the rights of all children. At global level, a number of frameworks have been adopted on the subject matter including the convention on the rights of children, the African charter on the rights and Welfare of the child and the Geneva Conventions and their two additional Protocols. In the same spirit several UN resolutions, AU summit and peace and Security Council policy decisions and frameworks have been developed to protect the rights of children in conflicts. The Vancouver Principles launched in 2017 on the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers to date have been endorsed by more the 100 countries across the world. The instrument has supported the global movement on raising the voice among member states to essentially commit to engage into actions that end wars on children and find sustainable ways to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers. It is important to highlight that Governments and other stakeholders on the continent are working together to achieve this vision.

While there is a lot to celebrate, the African child still face grave violations especially those associated to conflict. Wars are taking away children’s happiness to grow in families but above all children as young as eight years are being recruited and used as child soldiers denying them the opportunity to enjoy their childhood. Many children in Africa are left with no shelter or belonging. Today, the dynamics of war has changed. The center of these dynamics and tactics is the use of children which is an inhuman activity and extended terror to the African child. Recruitment of child soldiers constructs challenges in protecting children. It is therefore our responsibility to join efforts towards the eradication of any forms of violence on children and stigmatize the culture of the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The annual UN CAAC reported, 49,640 cases of boys and girls recruited and used as soldiers from 2005 to 2016. In 2016 alone, the UN new verified cases of child soldiers in Africa was 8,000. Protracted conflicts also expose children to other forms of violence. Statistics shows that between 2014 and 2018, 55,000 children experienced grave violations. In 2016 alone, 12 Million children were denied access to education because of war.  It is also reported that every child who is recruited is not reintegrated. This pause serious threat to the society and the future of the child.

The effects of war on children is insurmountable at individual, society, and the national levels. More so, girls and boys experience these effects differently. Rwanda is the first African country to endorse the Vancouver Principles and thus has certainly contributed to the achievement of the global call on the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers during their UN peace keeping mission but also serves as a regional hub on the continent where nations across the globe gather to learn from Rwanda’s experiences in preventing and protecting children in conflict. Rwanda has framed the issues of children in armed conflict as a specific priority concern for the security sector, and particularly their recruitment and use as soldiers. The Dallaire Institute has had a long standing contribution towards achievement of these efforts through great cooperation with the Government of Rwanda on joint interventions implemented by the Rwanda Defence Force. At the Vancouver Principles workshop held in Kigali, 2019 the Minister of Defence of Rwanda, Mr. Albert Murasira emphasized on the importance of "Protecting children as a key to the future of humanity and attainment of sustainable Peace and Security Agenda on the continent but also domestically”. The child protection development approach taken by Rwanda is a great example to the world. Rtd Gen. Dallaire, founder of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security during the same occasion alluded in his speech that "Protecting Children builds Hope for the Continent".  

Let us not forget that the extraordinary challenges of COVID19 pandemic has contributed to widening the gap on protecting the rights of children especially in countries burdened by civil wars and unending conflicts. These gaps therefore require global responses which only the re commitment of governments towards protecting of children can bring about a positive change in the lives of children. The Dallaire Initiative is committed to support global efforts that aim at ending violence that harm child soldiers. “We can’t achieve peace without protecting children from violence, and we can’t guarantee them justice if we don't stand up for their rights”, Dr Shelly Whitman the Executive Director of The Dallaire Institute Children, Peace and Security said at the Vancouver Principles Workshop, 2019 in Kigali.

This year’s theme on the Day of the African Child reminds us our common responsibility to give Justice to Children. Any form of violence committed against a child takes away their rights but, in most cases, justice is denied for children because they are voiceless. Therefore, failure to protect and care for children is denial to justice. Justice for children should not be a pre-requisite but a right and each one of us is accountable for not standing out for the rights of children. The national theme on this day encourages every Rwandan to become a Guardian Angel for children, “Malaika Murinzi” so that each child has a family that care for their well being.

Let us all join efforts and commitments towards promoting the rights of every child and make it a reality. For we can only achieve our sustainable development goals if we are able to reduce violence committed to children. We will continue to fight until one day we will make Recruitment and Use of Children Soldiers Unthinkable.

Fancisca Mujawase, Manager of Research and Evaluation for the Dallaire Institute for children, Peace and security.