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Every Woman Every Newborn EverywherE
Healthy Futures

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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. 

Download the full Rwanda profile

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

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Resources

Compendium on respectful maternal and newborn care

August 7, 2025

The compendium supports efforts to end mistreatment and achieve respectful maternal and newborn care. It is published by WHO together with UNFPA, UNICEF and the United Nations’ Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP), with support from Jhpiego and the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership programme. 

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Every Woman Every Newborn EverywherE
Healthy Futures

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Photo © 2020 WHO / Tatiana Almeida
Midwives during WHO Head of Sub-Office Dr Kai von Harbou visit to Hope Field Hospital

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