Message from Mrs. Jeannette Kagame highlights the Role of Parents in Caring for Children
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Stunting among children under five in Huye District has dropped from 19% to 15%, thanks to the community-focused “Village Without Stunting” program that brings growth monitoring and nutrition services directly to every child.
Etienne Habyarimana, Head of the District Health Department, said the initiative strengthened community-level interventions, enabling health workers to track children’s growth from birth. “In 2023/2024, stunting was 19.8%. By 2024/2025, it had decreased to 15.3%, a 4.5% drop,” he said.
Habyarimana added that the program is helping the district progress toward the five-year NST2 target of 15% by 2029. “Previously, children were monitored mainly at health centers, which were far for many parents. Now, all children are screened in their villages, ensuring none are missed,” he said.
The program also uses early childhood centers and community-based nutrition hubs, encouraging parents to enroll children to support their physical and cognitive development.
Rosine Tuyishime, a mother of a child with speech difficulties, praised the program. “My child had cognitive delays and did not speak. After a year at the center, he is more active, plays with others, and communicates through gestures. There is hope he will start speaking soon,” she said.
Nzabamwita Espérance, a health worker and early childhood educator in Runga village, said that when the program began in 2019, five children in the community suffered from malnutrition. As awareness grew and more children attended the centers, parents learned to prepare balanced meals, and no children in the village now experience stunting.
Rwanda’s government launched the Early Childhood Development (ECD) program in 2011 to reduce malnutrition and stunting among young children.
Currently, Huye District has 1,221 early childhood centers, including 1,087 community-based centers serving 38,976 children.
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