Rwanda committed to delivering on the promise of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and to guaranteeing reproductive rights and ensuring equitable and universal access to health care, leaving no one behind, and achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health. This requires renewed consideration in the Family Planning (FP) service delivery, including last-mile services and funding to meet FP 2020 goals.
The handed over Family Planning commodities will contribute to prevent unintended pregnancies and support couples and individuals to protect their lives
The Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Health and its subsidiary arm, that is the Rwanda Biomedical Center- coordinates the implementation of the Rwanda ICPD25 Commitments including improve family planning services delivery, access, and uptake by expanding the available contraceptive method mix, including emergency contraceptives, in order to decrease unmet need for family planning.
Over the years, Rwanda has made significant progress in the delivery and uptake of family planning services, according to the Rwanda Demographic Health survey VI (2019/20), knowledge of modern contraceptive methods among both women and men is high (99%-100%) with an increased total demand for family planning from 72% (2010) to 78% (2020)
While the modern contraceptive prevalence rates increased from 47.5% to 58%, unmet need for Family Planning remained high at 13.6% over the past decade especially among sexually active unmarried women.
On 22nd March 2022, UNFPA handed over Reproductive Health Commodities and Maternal Life Saving Medicines to the Rwanda Biomedical center (RBC), that will contribute to prevent unintended pregnancies and support couples and individuals to protect their lives through deciding when they want to have children, which is a right in itself.
“These commodities will increase the availability of mixed Family Planning methods as well as the geographical and financial access with a focus on the unmet subgroup in the community. We thank UNFPA for its continued generous support to the Government of Rwanda in ensuring the access to safe, high quality reproductive health care and services to the last miles. We are making sure that this is available to adolescents and women who need them the most.” Noella Bigirimana, the Deputy Director-General of RBC.
Ensuring that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled is a UNFPA core goal. Universal access to safe, high quality reproductive health care is central to achieving this vision.
“I would like to thank the Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Health for its coordination and partnership throughout the implementation of the Rwanda ICPD25 commitments, ensuring the availability of quality Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) commodities and services reach the last mile” Kwabena Asante-Ntiamoah, the UNFPA Representative.
“There are many maternal related deaths that could be prevented if the supply chain of commodities, life-saving medicines and equipment is secured and effective” He added.
Family Planning is a cornerstone for sustainable development - It is evident that investment in Family Planning could yield short, medium- and long-term benefits that cut across several sectors including health, economy, education, agriculture, infrastructure and others.
The Family Planning Business Case demonstrates the returns Rwanda will get from investing in Family Planning; on average, between 2015 and 2050, every $1 invested in Family Planning could yield $112 in returns or savings across many sectors.
Therefore, there is a need to increase investment in Family Planning as well as exploring new financing strategies towards Family Planning sustainability. This will contribute to accelerate the health gains across the sector and have a multiplier effect for a positive economic development of Rwanda.
KWABENA Asante-Ntiamoah, UNFPA Representative, handing over the Family Planning commodities to Noella Bigirimana, the Deputy Director-General of RBC
