Maintaining hygiene and feeding children under five on food rich in proteins and vitamins is the best way to reduce child mortality in local communities, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, Henriette Umulisa, has said.

Speaking at a special community service session organised by the National Women Council in Kigali, on Saturday, Umulisa said sharing information and taking responsibility will work positively toward eradicating malnutrition.

"It is good to share experiences with the community on health concerns and make it our responsibility to remind them to prepare their food in hygienic places to prevent diseases,” she said.

The Chairperson of the National Women Council, Beatrice Mukasine, said there is still a lot to do to tackle malnutrition in communities but added that as long as people change, it can be eliminated.

"We must change our understanding on what the right and important food for good health should be and if cleanliness is added to this, malnutrition in our communities will be history,” Mukasine said.

According to Rwanda Integrated Household Conditions Survey 2013/14 report, released in September, of 24 per cent of children under five, 9 per cent have problems of growth, 17 per cent have problems with hygiene while 2 per cent have a malnutrition problem.