Rwanda has made significant progress in improving the health of women and children and is on fast track to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 (to reduce child mortality) and 5 (to reduce maternal mortality).

A combination of factors have played a key role in driving progress.

Under 5 child mortality: Reduction in mortality is associated with both improved coverage of effective interventions. Full child immunization coverage increased from 69.8% to 90.1% while exclusive breast feeding rate increased to 85%. This has been significant in the prevention and treatment of the major causes of child mortality.