Rwanda is committed to ending hunger and undernutrition by 2025, said the Rwandan Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi. He discussed the need to address these challenges during the Compact2025 roundtable discussion in Kigali, Rwanda on March 24, 2016.
“We can’t afford to lag behind when other countries are successful in fighting malnutrition,” said the Prime Minister, who is a member of the Compact2025 Leadership Council. He reinforced the importance for all stakeholders to work together to reach the 2025 goal, and committed to improve coordination for policy formulation and program implementation.
IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan, who is also a member of the Compact2025 Leadership Council, also offered remarks. “We can end hunger and undernutrition by 2025,” he said, adding that “Compact2025 is designed to get us there.”
Joining the roundtable discussion were over 100 participants, including high-level representatives from the Rwandan ministries of health, agriculture, gender, local government, education, and others. Donor, research, and civil society communities were also well represented. The discussions informed how and where Compact2025 can support existing initiatives in Rwanda to fill research, policy, and implementation gaps in order to accelerate progress in Rwanda.
Gerardine Mukeshimana, Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, participated throughout the day and gave closing remarks. She emphasized the need to agree on how to coordinate and align efforts with each other in order to achieve the goal.
A scoping study was developed to inform the roundtable and spark discussion. The study provides an overview of Rwanda’s current food security and nutrition challenges and opportunities; the key relevant strategies, policies, and programs in place; and an assessment of knowledge, policy, and implementation gaps that hold back progress. It has been updated and finalized with inputs from the roundtable discussion, and includes recommendations and next steps.
The Rwanda roundtable discussion was the first of such meetings taking place in Compact2025 focal countries. Click here to learn more about the other roundtable discussions.
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