What is going on in Rwanda?
Rwanda has made progress in improving living standards and embedding disability rights within its development agenda. However, persons with disabilities remain among the most socio-economically disadvantaged groups. They face limited economic empowerment, poor access to assistive technologies, low awareness of rights, insufficient disability-disaggregated data, alongaide stigma and discrimination. Initiatives such as parent support groups and youth employability training are promising, yet gaps in inclusion and opportunity still persist.
Facts and figures
- About 450,000 Rwandans (age 5+) have a disability
- 41% of people with disabilities have no education
- 68% of children with disabilities attend primary school
- Only 12% of children with disabilities attend secondary school
- 52% of working-age people with disabilities are employed
Our work in Rwanda
In Rwanda, we partner with the National Union of Disability Organisations in Rwanda (NUDOR) as our Strategic Partner Organisation. NUDOR is the umbrella organisation of OPDs in Rwanda and therefore has a strong lobby and advocacy focus. Under management and coordination of NUDOR, we work with 21 local partner organisations across the country, which are a mix of OPDs, faith-based organisations and community-based organisations. The programme is especially strong in improving access to health and education, by providing direct child support and collaborating actively with duty bearers in these domains. Next to this, the programme invests in strengthening the approach of Community Based Rehabilitation and embedding this in community and government structures.
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