Eastern Africa
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

Adoption

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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
 
Rwanda
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
Rwanda
Government
National Child Development Agency (formerly National Commission for Children (NCC)
i
The NCDA (formerly the NCC) is a mandated government body responsible for overseeing the care-reform process including deinstitutionalization, expansion of alternative care and strengthening of the child protection system. The NCC has overall responsibility for childcare reform, and for the implementation of the TMM. NCC also has responsibility for facilitating the implementation of the family law and relevant ministerial orders governing adoption and foster care. In this regard, NCC coordinated the implementation of the first Integrated Child Rights Strategic Plan (2011-2016).
Rwandan Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF)
i
MIGEPROF houses the NCC and is involved in, and supportive of, activities led by NCC. The governing body of the NCC comprises a Board of Commissioners, an Executive Secretariat and an Advisory Council.
Program Coordination Team (PCT)
i
The PCT’s main objective is to promote cohesion and coordination in the child-care reform effort. It is chaired by the NCC and co-chaired by UNICEF.
Other line ministries or government entities
i
National Police, Rwanda Defence Force, Rwanda correctional facilities, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Local Government Authorities, Imbuto Foundation, National Institute for Statistics.
The Child Rights Observatory Office
i
The Child Rights Observatory Office was also established within the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) and is responsible for child-rights advocacy. The Child Rights Observatory supports the NCHR to receive and handle cases of child rights violations.
Civil Society Organisations
Hope and Homes for Children
i
UN and NGOs provide technical assistance in system strengthening, child-care reform, deinstitutionalization, prevention, household economic strengthening and other service provision in support of family strengthening, alternative care and deinstitutionalization.
Global Communities - Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program (CHAMP)
i
UN and NGOs provide technical assistance in system strengthening, child-care reform, deinstitutionalization, prevention, household economic strengthening and other service provision in support of family strengthening, alternative care and deinstitutionalization.
P.E.A.C.E. Plan
i
A network of Christian faith-based organizations working to encourage and advocate for the active engagement of faith-based communities and actors in advocating for family-based care in support of the larger reform effort.
Children’s Forums
i
Formal structures at the cell, sector, district and national levels where children are able to share their concerns, opinions and suggestions on issues that directly affect their lives.
Child protection committees
i
Community-based groups involved to different degrees in the identification of vulnerable children and families, service provision, gatekeeping and monitoring. Also Malaika Mulenzi (Guardian Angels, i.e. foster parents) and Inshuti Z’umuryango (Friends of a Family); these are community based para social work volunteers that form part of a new government initiative to identify, prevent and respond to child protection concerns within the community. They also have the responsibility of following up cases of reintegration.
Imbabazi Foundation
i
UN and NGOs provide technical assistance in system strengthening, child-care reform, deinstitutionalization, prevention, household economic strengthening and other service provision in support of family strengthening, alternative care and deinstitutionalization.
UNICEF
i
UN and NGOs provide technical assistance in system strengthening, child-care reform, deinstitutionalization, prevention, household economic strengthening and other service provision in support of family strengthening, alternative care and deinstitutionalization.
USAID, Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF)
i
Donors support care reform, early childhood education, prevention and economic strengthening, social protection.
Global Fund
i
Donors support care reform, early childhood education, prevention and economic strengthening, social protection.
UK DFID
i
Donors support care reform, early childhood education, prevention and economic strengthening, social protection.
IKEA Foundation
i
Donors support care reform, early childhood education, prevention and economic strengthening, social protection.
European Union (EU)
i
Donors support care reform, early childhood education, prevention and economic strengthening, social protection.
Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF), now Global Communities
i
UN and NGOs provide technical assistance in system strengthening, child-care reform, deinstitutionalization, prevention, household economic strengthening and other service provision in support of family strengthening, alternative care and deinstitutionalization.
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

Add New Data
Country
Rwanda
Push Factors
Death of both parents
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Death of mother
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Abandonment
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021). "While, according to institutional records, abandonment was the main recorded reason for entry in 68 per cent of cases, it is important to note that ‘abandonment’ is a broad term and does not provide concrete reasons or risk factors. A further compilation and review of evidence from detailed child and family assessments showed that the root causes of placement in residential care facilities included: unwanted pregnancies; the circumstances of female domestic workers; lack of knowledge concerning the damaging effects of institutionalization; family conflicts or marriage breakdown; death of parents; and lack of family cohesion."
Poverty
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Unwanted pregnancies
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Circumstances of female domestic workers
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Lack of knowledge concerning the damaging effects of institutionalization
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Family conflicts or marriage breakdown
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Lack of family cohesion
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Pull Factors
Perceived attractiveness of services offered by institutions
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021)
Proximity to institutions
i
Data Source: Country Care Profile: Rwanda (Changing the Way We Care, 2021). The study noted, “the very existence of an institution increased the likelihood of a child from that neighbourhood to be placed in an institution.” Anecdotal evidence provided by various stakeholders also noted that in the limited number of locations without residential child-care facilities, very few, if any, children from there were placed in facilities in other locations. Thus when there are no residential care facilities nearby, it seems that families find other care options such as kinship or informal foster care.
Effective

key_research_and_information

Key Data Sources

Add New Data
Country
Rwanda
Effective

Displaying 141 - 150 of 188

List of Organisations

Meeting Report of the Regional Learning and Consultation Meeting: Strengthening Child Care Systems
Better Care Network,

Following a consultative mapping, a regional learning meeting took place on 19-20 August 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme of this meeting was "Reflection on past, current and future efforts aimed at strengthening child care systems in East and Southern Africa." 

Rwanda DHS 2010 Report (Draft)
Better Care Network,

This report from Better Care Network is a collection of care-relevant data and demographic information on Rwanda from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program.

Researching the Linkages Between Social Protection and Children’s Care in Rwanda: The VUP and Its Effects on Child Wellbeing, Care, and Family Reunification
Keetie Roelen & Helen Shelmerdine from the Centre for Social Protection (CSP) with support from Emily Delap from Family for Every Child and Stephen Devereux from the CSP at IDS. ,

This report features the results of, and recommendations based on, a study conducted in Rwanda which investigates the links between the cash transfer program “Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP),” child well-being, and children’s care and family reunification.

Measuring the Determinants of Childhood Vulnerability
UNICEF,

This study by UNICEF sought to identify key determinants of vulnerability among children –including those affected by HIV and AIDS – that can contribute to developing an improved global measure of vulnerable children in the context of HIV and AIDS. Data from the most recent available household surveys at the time of analysis was used from 11 countries – Cambodia, Central African Republic, Haiti, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – were pooled.

Key Models with Regards to De-institutionalisation and Child Protection System Reform in Rwanda
Hope and Homes for Children, Rwanda ,

This document presents key models used by Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) in Rwanda with regards to deinstitutionalisation and child protection system reform, particularly regarding closure of institutions, development of alternative care and prevention of family separation and institutionalisation.

Partnerships for change: Working together to influence child protection reform in Rwanda
Victoria Martin, Hope and Homes for Children, Rwanda ,

A short brief by Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) in Rwanda explaining strategies used in the process of taking its deinstitutionalisation pilot project and research up to policy-level advocacy.

Reflections on Africa’s Indigenous Knowledge of parenting: Indigenous parenting practices of different communities in Africa
Parenting in Africa Network (PAN),

This publication, produced by the Parenting in Africa Network (PAN), highlights the skillful parenting practices of several pastoral communities in Africa. 

Webinar on Deinstitutionalizing the Alternative Care System for Children: The implications for the social service workforce with learning from Rwanda and Moldova
Better Care Network and the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance,

Webinar co-hosted by Better Care Network and the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance on Deinstitutionalizing the Alternative Care System for Children: The implications for the social service workforce with learning from Rwanda and Moldova.

Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms in Refugee Camps in Rwanda: An Ethnographic Study
Imogen Prickett, Israel Moya, Liberata Muhorakeye, Mark Canavera and Dr. Lindsay Stark - CPC Learning Network, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, HealthNet TPO, TPO Uganda, Avsi, U.S. State Department,

The purpose of this research is to learn about community-based child protection processes and mechanisms in two refugee camps in Rwanda – Gihembe and Kiziba.

Best Practices for Engaging Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms and Establishing Synergies with the Education Sector: Learning from Protracted Refugee Settings in Uganda and Rwanda
CPC Learning Network,

The aim of this note is to outline some ways of engaging with community-based child protection mechanisms (CBCPMs), especially within the education sector, which apply in both urban and rural protracted refugee settings.