Monday, 12 June 2023 - The Government of Rwanda and partners have initiated an extensive and diverse plan to effectively combat child stunting within the next two years. The launch took place during the national Maternal and Child Health Week in Musanze District.

The two-year plan encompasses multiple sectors, including health, agriculture, animal husbandry, and Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). It focuses on six key interventions that will serve as a framework for all activities aimed at reducing stunting in children over the next two years. The interventions are as follows:

1. Enhancing child nutrition indicators monitored by Community Health Workers (CHWs), specifically the child scorecard and length mat.  
2. Improving attendance at Antenatal Care (ANC) visits, with an emphasis on early contact in the first trimester, and enhancing the quality of nutrition counseling.  
3. Assessing the supply chain for nutrition commodities and revitalizing "Centres Nutritionnels" at the health center level. 
4. Providing low-income households with hens for egg production and scaling up the distribution of biofortified products such as iron-rich beans and orange-flesh potatoes.
5. Evaluating and enhancing the management framework for water quality in rural areas of Rwanda: increased use of water purifiers for household and community (schools, health facilities, and ECD settings) and increasing the rate of clean water connections in schools.
6. Launching the "Hehe n'Igwingira" Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) campaign. The two-year campaign aims to raise awareness among the general public about the aforementioned interventions. It will focus on the irreversible consequences of stunting, child growth monitoring tools, "Centres Nutritionnels" services, Animal Source Food (ASF) and biofortified products, WASH interventions for homes and communities, ANC attendance during the first trimester, and nutrition.

These six interventions will be implemented across all districts, with particular attention and close monitoring of the ten most affected areas.

According to the sixth Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS2020), the rate of child stunting at national level reduced from from 38 per cent in 2015 to 33 per cent 2020. The government targets to reach 19 per cent in 2024.