A new study into Rwanda’s poverty trends has reiterated the progress in poverty reduction.

The study was carried out by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) in collaboration with researchers from top US and African universities.

As part of the study, the researchers analysed the two previous Integrated Household Living Conditions Surveys (EICV3 and EICV 4). The surveys had showed close to a million Rwandans had been lifted out of poverty between 2011 and 2014.

There were concerns raised about the methodology used to determine poverty trends and carrying out a follow-up study was one of the ways to cross check the methodology used as well as assess the impact of wealth creation initiatives.

The study concluded that there was substantial reduction of poverty irrespective of the model used to measure poverty.

The results of the study were, yesterday, presented to journalists and development partners at a news conference hosted by the Ministry of Finance and NISR.

Laure Beaufils, head of Department for International Development (DFID), which leads UK’s foreign poverty support interventions, said the analysis was useful.

"The data we see here confirms some trends that we already know in poverty reduction and that to us is a strong signal that investing in poverty reduction continues to enable us to produce important results,” Beaufils said.

The study also recommended that, in addition to programmes that fight poverty, there should be other initiatives that will protect vulnerable Rwandans from slipping back into poverty.

The analysis found that 10.4 per cent of the population that was not poor in the 2011 survey was found to have fallen back into poverty in 2014 due to various reasons including prolonged droughts, illnesses or deaths within the family.

"Much as there are policies that help people to move out of poverty, we need other policies that help people stay out of poverty, especially in difficult times due to reasons such as illness, loss of family members, poor harvests or floods,” Yusuf Murangwa, NISR director-general, said.

The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete, said the follow-up study was important as it informs future policy implementation and design.

"We will now be able to see if we are making a difference, where did we go wrong, where we can improve and take necessary action,” Gatete said.

"What we want is people to graduate, you would otherwise be wasting time when pumping in money and then some people graduate and fall back again. There has to be policies to sustain them.”

Some government social protection programmes include Ubudehe, One cow per family, National Employment Programme and VUP Umurenge.

DFID’s Beaufils said that in addressing challenges such as the percentage of people falling back into poverty, they would engage in discussions on ongoing programmes in social protection such as VUP to see how they can support the government.

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