Multidimensional Child
Poverty in Rwanda

Full Report

Over the last decade, Rwanda has shown considerable progress in monitoring and improving child well-being at the national level. The country’s strong economic growth accompanied by significant improvements in living standards led to a two thirds drop in child mortality5 and near-universal primary school enrolment.

However, like most countries in the world, Rwanda has not been spared by the COVID-19 crisis. Given that the COVID pandemic is likely to reverse the progress in child poverty, it is now more important than ever to continue monitoring the situation of children. In 2018, Rwanda published its first comprehensive report on child poverty assessing the deprivation rates in different dimensions of child well-being using data from the Demographic and Health Survey 2013/14 (for children under 5 years) and the Integrated Household Living Condition Survey 2013/14 (for children aged 5-17 years).

The present Multidimensional Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA) is a follow-up to measure the country’s progress in addressing multidimensional poverty for children aged under 5 years using the Demographic and Health Survey 2019/2020. This report aims to apply a holistic approach while identifying the most vulnerable children, through the analysis of various dimensions of children’s wellbeing (Nutrition, Health, Child development, Child protection, Water, Sanitation and Housing).

Some of the deprivations affecting children can have irreversible effects leading to the eventual productivity loss and social exclusion of children throughout their lifetime. Alleviating the intensity and severity of child poverty across multiple dimensions will contribute significantly towards Rwanda’s future economic growth and overall productivity.

Access the full report in English.