Retraining Rwanda’s Traditional Birth Attendants

Two years spent training traditional birth attendants in remote rural areas has allowed Rwanda to reduce the country's maternal mortality rate, says the country's health department.

RWANDA: Improving the Lives of Small-Scale Farmers

Joelle Nsamira Kajuga, a female agricultural researcher has a ready answer to describe which modified crop will produce a higher yield, which will be resistant to bacteria, and which will ensure food security and generate a higher turnover for poor small-scale farmers in different regions in Rwanda.

RWANDA: Women Win by Formalising Businesses

The vast majority of businesses in Rwanda - like elsewhere in Africa - are informal. Government expects that a drive to register an estimated 900,000 informal enterprises will both strengthen these businesses and improve tax revenues.

RWANDA: Efforts to Contain HIV/AIDS Among Teens Slacken

Eighteen-year-old David Kimenyi* is sure he infected his girlfriend with HIV. They had unprotected sex many times, even after he discovered he was HIV-positive.

ECONOMY-RWANDA: Credit for Women's Development

In early July, Rwandan officials announced a new programme that aims to strengthen women's economic capacity by providing more access to credit and enabling them to start income generating projects.

/CORRECTED REPEAT*/RIGHTS-RWANDA: Key Genocide Trials Depend On Judicial Reforms

Rwanda is hoping to convince the International Criminal Tribunal to change its mind over refusing to transfer three genocide suspects to face trial at home, paving the way for extradition procedures to start against dozens of others living abroad in freedom.

RWANDA: Cutting Edge HIV/AIDS Prevention Presents Challenges

Certain medical workers in Rwanda have expressed concern about the country's campaign to promote male circumcision as a means of curbing the spread of HIV. They fear that in a country with low levels of knowledge about sexual health, people could mistakenly believe the procedure offers complete protection against the virus.

DEATH PENALTY-RWANDA: Abolition Spurs Quest for Justice

Rwanda has moved swiftly to capitalise on the international approval it received for its recent abolition of the death penalty, and signalled that it will now actively seek the extradition of suspects in the 1994 genocide known to be hiding out abroad and evading justice.

RWANDA: A Difficult Trade-Off to Protect Lake Kivu

Sylvestre Munyalibanje has been accustomed to farming in the Rwandan district of Rutsiro, on the shores of Lake Kivu. But now, he's facing the end of an era.

ENVIRONMENT-RWANDA: Unhappy Ending of a Welcome Return

The return in 1996 of over a million Rwandans who had fled their country in the wake of genocide two years earlier, fearing persecution at the hands of Tutsi rebels who took control of Rwanda, was greeted with relief in many quarters.

ENVIRONMENT: Desertification Gains a Foothold in Rwanda

As recently as 2002, 41-year-old Marie Mutezinka was still able to meet the needs of her four children by farming in Gako, in the Bugesera region of south-east Rwanda.

RWANDA: Controversy Over Plan to Join East African Economic Community

Rwanda and Burundi may be sworn in as new members of the East African Economic Community (EAC) when the grouping holds its next summit, Nov. 30, in the Tanzanian financial centre of Dar-es-Salam. The regional organisation presently comprises Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and is headquartered in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha.

DEATH PENALTY-RWANDA: Abolition Needed for ‘Integrating into International Justice’

Rwanda's minister of justice announced that the government will propose a law ending capital punishment in Rwanda by December 2006 to encourage European countries to extradite suspected masterminds of the genocide that occurred in the country in 1994.

RIGHTS-RWANDA: Justice Eludes Many 1994 Genocide Survivors

Fear and intimidation have slowed the progress of reconciliatory justice for survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that claimed the lives of over 800,000 people.

ENVIRONMENT-RWANDA: Park Fencing to Protect the Mountain Gorillas

Authorities in Rwanda have announced that the "Parc national des volcans" (National Volcano Park) will soon be fenced off to stem the killing of endangered mountain gorillas, and prevent further destruction of the park forest.

RIGHTS-RWANDA: Genocide Survivors Tire of “Unrealistic Promises”

More than a decade after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the need for compensation to victims of this tragedy continues to present difficulties for government and genocide survivors alike.

DEVELOPMENT-RWANDA: Community Service Offends Across the Board

During the 12 years since the Rwandan genocide, national and community courts - and an international tribunal - have tried to bring about justice for victims of the killings and rights abuses that took place in 1994.

DEVELOPMENT-RWANDA: Community Service Offends Across the Board

During the 12 years since the Rwandan genocide, national and community courts - and an international tribunal - have tried to bring about justice for victims of the killings and rights abuses that took place in 1994.