The interest rate will drop to 15% within five years.

Parents are taught to prepare healthy meals for their children

The pillars of the plan include fighting obesity and malnutrition, strengthening service activation, export promotion, quality education and job creation.

In 2020, there were more than 149 million children with epilepsy worldwide, more than 40% of whom were from the African continent.

Statistics show that more than 350,000 children are born in Rwanda each year, and a Rwandan woman can give birth to three to four children.

In order to address the problems of child malnutrition and obesity, the Rwandan government decided to launch Early Childhood Development Programs (ECD’s) in 2011.

There are 31,482 households in the country, of which more than 25,000 are different households.

The Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (NISR) showed that 33% of children under five in Rwanda have problems praying.

The data showed that 9% of them were overweight, 1% weighed less than their height, 8% were below the recommended weight for their age and 6% were overweight.

This is a 5% decrease compared to the 2015 NISR survey, which showed that 38% of people were obese, of which 14% were severely obese.

Data from the 2020 Rwanda Sixth Population Growth and Health Survey (RDHS) showed that the childhood obesity rate increased from 38% in 2015 to 33%.

The target that the Rwandan government had set for itself was that the number of stunted children would reach 19% by the end of the first phase of the seven-year National Development Acceleration Plan (NST1), and although this target was not achieved, it is much needed to raise awareness.

Medical experts have identified a number of causes of diarrhea in children, including drinking contaminated water while children are growing up, undercooked food such as snakes, and some snake bites that cause children to vomit.

Another is the problems that children encounter because of family conflicts. The brain of a child cannot tolerate problems and negative things that hinder its freedom.

Childhood obesity, especially among children under five years old, is one of the issues that worries various child health agencies as it is considered a disease and a serious epidemic, especially for people living in the African continent.

In this year’s 2024/2025 budget, the Rwandan government revealed that funding to combat malnutrition and obesity among children under five has been increased to Rwanda 1.8 billion, from Rwanda 355.4 billion in 2023/2024 to Rwanda 357.8 billion.

Despite the increase, investment in these activities as a percentage of the total budget rose to 6% from 7% last year, as Rwanda’s budget for 2024/2025 increased by 12% compared to the previous year.

On August 21, 2024, a three-day national conference organized by the National Center for Child Development and Protection came to an end with the aim of finding solutions to the problems that still exist in early childhood development, such as helping children of this age to inspire the Minister of Equality and Community Development, Consolee Uwimana, to ask Rwandans to take care of the health and hygiene of children.

“When we looked at the most recent census in Rwanda, we found that there were 5,896,601 children, which is equivalent to 44.5% of the total population of Rwanda,” he said. “Of these, there were 2,426,016 children under the age of six, which is 41% of the total number of children, but 18% of the total population. In order for these children to become who they want to be and achieve real results in Rwanda, they need different services.”

“These include taking care of their health, providing them with quality education, nutritious food, opposing any violence that may be perpetrated against them, taking care of their hygiene, giving them time to play, talking to them, etc.,” he added. Most of these services will be provided in the country’s child welfare homes.

In addition to reducing the number of child laborers, the plan also includes that agriculture will grow at an annual rate of 6% and will be based on meeting the market. Productivity will increase by more than 50% by increasing the irrigated area by 85% and increasing fertilizers and seeds. It is also time to modernize the livestock industry.

The government has decided that the plan will create at least 1.25 million jobs, or 250,000 jobs per year.

As for non-government investment, it will double from $2.2 billion to $4.6 billion by 2029.

Exports will also increase from $3.5 billion to $7.3 billion.

The government has also decided to give more support to the “Make in Rwanda” initiative to boost economic growth and provide jobs. Agriculture, industry and services are some of the sectors expected to improve under the initiative.

In terms of education, by strengthening early childhood education, the proportion of students in kindergartens has increased from 35% to 65%.

As the necessary skills and equipment increase, the number of people taking technical courses will also increase, and 500,000 people will receive technical training.

Vocational model schools will also be established to provide skills required in the labour market.

In terms of health, on the basis of quadrupling the number of health personnel, the service starting point will be further improved and more attention will be paid to services for pregnant women and children.

The government has decided to work hard to prevent and treat malnutrition and reduce the childhood obesity rate from 33% to 15% within five years.

The government has decided that by 2029, every home, school and hospital will have electricity and clean water.

Taking care of your child’s diet is one thing that can help prevent them from getting sick.

On the tourism front, output from the sector is set to double under plans to make the country a leader in hosting international conferences and other related events.

Another thing is that there will be an e-ID card to help all citizens access government services electronically.

By 2029, all government services will be delivered electronically.

On the diplomatic front, the government decided to strengthen international cooperation to create business and investment opportunities that would help improve the country’s economy.

Rwandans living abroad will also be more involved in sustainable development activities.

At this moment, security and peace will be left behind.