The National Strategy for Transformation settles 3 priorities for the period from 2017 to 2024, in order to promote a transformation in the country. These priorities are: economic transformation; social transformation; and transformational governance. The strategy will also prioritize the following cross-cutting areas: Capacity Development, HIV/AIDS and Non-Communicable Diseases, Disability and Social Inclusion, Environment and Climate Change, Regional Integration and International Positioning, Gender and Family Promotion, and Disaster Management. The overarching objective of the Economic Transformation pillar is to accelerate inclusive economic growth and development founded on the Private Sector, knowledge and Rwanda’s Natural Resources. As for Social Transformation Pillar, the overarching goal is to develop rwandans into a capable and skilled people with quality standards of living and a stable and secure society. Finally, the main goal for the Transformational Governance Pillar is to consolidate Good Governance and Justice as, building blocks for equitable and sustainable National Development. Social transformation pillar addresses, among other issues, the eradication of malnutrition through enhanced prevention and management of all forms of malnutrition. Specifically, malnutrition is adressed under the priority area 2 of the Social transformation pillar. Key interventions will include: strengthening Multi-sectoral coordination through the Nutrition Secretariat and strengthen the social cluster coordination at decentralized levels up to the village; ensuring and sustaining food security (covered under Economic Transformation pillar), Distributing Food and vitamin supplements using Fortified Blended Food (FBF), and one Cup of milk per child, to those already affected; and promoting at the village level the 1,000 days of good nutrition and antenatal care. This will involve sensitizing households on good nutrition and hygiene practices at household and community level through Early Childhood Development Centers (ECDs), health centers and family based campaigns. In addition, key strategic interventions for priority area 6 of the Economic transformation (Modernize and increase productivity of Agriculture and livestock) include: strengthen the commercialization of crop and animal resource value chains by increasing private sector engagement, promoting market-oriented agri-businesses, and capturing greater in-country surplus and value added; work with the private sector to increase the surface of consolidated and irrigated land and promote agricultural mechanization; promote new models of irrigation scheme management, including the development and strengthening of farmers’ and water users’ associations; increase the land area covered by terraces and ensure their optimal use, land covered by radical terraces; enhance farmers’ access to improved seeds; promote research and develop new seed varieties; work with the private sector to build post-harvest handling and storage facilities across the country and to add value to agricultural produce (processing); and establish a program to improve professionalization of livestock farmers and increase their output in terms of quality, volume and productivity. Poverty is also tackled by the Social Transformation Pillar. The document highlights that eradication of Poverty will require multiple interventions across different sectors that offer incomes, decent jobs and savings (covered under the Economic Transformation Pillar) as well as pro-poor and inclusive social protection (core and complementary) programmes that offer support and allow asset accumulation to promote resilience to shocks while reducing income inequality among Rwandans, which are entailed under the Social Transformation Pillar. Specifically, the NST1 targets eradication of extreme poverty by 2024. Some of the Key strategic interventions designed to support vulnerable groups to eradicate extreme poverty defined in the policy are: the One Cow per Poor Family (Girinka)Program and other social programs run at the village level and support poor households to acquire small livestock; enhance targeting based on the nationwide roll-out of the household profiling as well as strengthen partnerships and coordination between government, non- governmental organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), and the private sector in implementing poverty eradication programmes; scale up the minimum package for graduation (MPG); and prioritize nationwide roll-out of VUP expanded Public Works (with focus on female-headed households caring for young children) and refocus VUP Classic Public Works to areas of the Country at most risk of seasonal and climate-related shocks. The Pillar on Economic transformation also includes measures on promoting inclusive and agricultural food systems, such as mechanisms to increase access to finance for farmers. Moreover, the policy integrates the leaving no one behind approach. Finally, regarding disaster management and climate change, the Strategy forsees several actions under the three pillars. Under the Priority Area 5 of Social Transformation (Moving Towards a Modern Rwandan household), the policy aims to develop and facilitate decent settlement of Rwandans including relocation of those living in high-risk zones, Another objective of the area is to improve mechanisms for disaster preparedness response and mitigation in different sectors with priority to big sectors such as agriculture or urbanization. On the other hand, the priority area destined to improve the management of natural resources under the Economic Transformation Pillar forsees to develop a project to manage water flows from the volcano region and other rivers to mitigate related disasters and improve water resource management.
Rwanda · 2017-01-01