Do you work on improving health around the world? Have your say!
June 3, 2025
This is your chance to contribute to the Lancet Commission for Evidence-based Implementation.
Take this short survey by 27 June.
Country action
Rwanda
Photo © 2011 UNICEF/ Shehzad Noorani
Using a large flip chart, a female health worker gives health education to a group of pregnant women while they wait for service in a UNICEF supported MCH clinic (Maternal and Child) in the city of Musanze in northern Rwanda.
Every Woman Every Newborn in Rwanda
Download the full profile with additional key demographics, progress against milestones, and more.
This profile was developed in May 2023, using data from 2018-2023.
Photo © 2020 UNICEF/ Isaac Rudakubana
Two newborns rest in the neonatal ward of Rubavu Hospital, Rwanda.
National mortality targets
Maternal mortality ratio
126 per 100,000 live births by 2024
Stillbirth rate
No data
Neonatal mortality rate
15 per 1,000 live births by 2024
Progress to meet the national maternal, newborn mortality and stillbirth reduction targets
Photo © 2020 UNICEF/ Isaac Rudakubana
A mother in Rubavu Hospital, Rwanda practices ‘kangaroo care’ to keep her prematurely born baby warm and regulate body temperature.
Progress to meet Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere coverage targets
MNH Acceleration Plan highlights
- Develop or adapt the new guidelines on neonatal nursing care, kangaroo mother care, essential newborn care, postnatal care and safe anaesthesia in obstetrics.
- Enhance capacity for data analysis and use for decision-making among health professional at all levels (central, district , facility and community) for planning, programme monitoring, quality improvement and prioritization.
- Mobilize resources to increase the number of second-generation health posts in remote and hard-to-reach
- Strengthen supply chain management of medicines and consumables at community and health facilities levels.
- Adapt MNH package in health training institutions curriculum and strengthen capacity building on MNH package in the pre-service training, including through induction courses for new clinical staff (GPs, nurses, anaesthetist, midwives, paramedics) and by supporting the Faculty to master key MNH competences.
Photo © 2016 UNICEF/ Habib Kanobana
Jyamima Nyirahabimana recently gave birth to twins. Both babies were born premature, but Jyamima is not worried. She is being taught “Kangaroo Mother Care”, which promotes growth and regulates body temperature through skin-to-skin contact between her and the babies.
Photo © 2016 UNICEF/ Habib Kanobana
Jyamima Nyirahabimana holds her twin babies close to her body. Although both babies were born premature, but Jyamima is not worried. She has been taught the “Kangaroo Care”, which promotes growth, regulates body temperature, and encourages deeper sleep through skin-to-skin contact between her and the babies.
Quality of care in Rwanda
Rwanda’s successes in improving quality of care for maternal, newborn and child health are essential to help reduce maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths. These include:
- Develop a RMNCH Quality of Care framework, with quality of care standards and indicators.
- Support the dissemination and scaling up of accreditation standards and quality improvement initiatives for MNH at the primary health care and referral levels.
- Strengthen the conduct of Maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response reviews on a monthly basis in health facilities and quarterly at central level and facilitate the implementation of action plans.
- Conduct a study on the causes of stillbirth in Rwanda to determine the magnitude and inform development of interventions.
- Conduct a deep dive study into causes of death among premature newborns.
- Enhance the capacity for data analysis and use for decision-making among health professional at all levels (central, district , facility and community) for planning, programme monitoring, quality improvement and prioritization.
News and events
Launch of the Implementation guidance on transitioning to midwifery models of care
June 3, 2025
Wednesday 18 (online), with two webinars to accomodate different time zones.
World Patient Safety Day: Safe care for every newborn and every child
May 28, 2025
The theme for World Patient Safety Day 2025 is ‘Safe care for every newborn and every child.
Resources
State of the world’s nursing report 2025
May 22, 2025
The 2025 edition of the State of the world’s nursing provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the nursing workforce. The report features new indicators on
Joint Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere and Child Survival Action on the impact of ODA cuts
May 16, 2025
Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere and Child Survival Action joint messages on the impact of ODA cuts on maternal, newborn and child health. Prepared for
The Midwifery Accelerator: Expanding health care for women and newborns
April 8, 2025
The Midwifery Accelerator: Expanding Quality Care for Women and Newborns is a call to invest in midwifery care to save and transform the lives of women and their newborns around the world.