The needs of people with disabilities have been identified and categorized, at 87.5 per cent as of September, to ensure that they benefit from social protection programmes.

The progress of the programme was announced by Minister of State in the Ministry of Local Government Marie Solange Kayisire, who attended a conference on social protection on Wednesday, October 9 in Kigali.

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There are about 1.3 million people with disabilities in Rwanda, according to the 2020 FinScope Report.

Their disabilities have been identified and generally grouped into nine categories: disabilities related to sight, hearing, communication, mobility, daily life activity, intellectual capacity, learning, mental.

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Mobility-related disabilities are experienced by 35 per cent of persons with disabilities followed by disabilities related to conducting daily life activities, communication, and visual impairment, each reported by more than 10 per cent of persons with disabilities.

At least 87.5 per cent of people with disabilities, as of September 2024, had been recorded, in terms of what they need and disability, in the Disability Management Information System (DMIS). The target is to identify all the people with disability and their needs.

The exercise was expected to be completed by the end of the financial year in June.

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People with disabilities should be identified so that the government will be able to know the diversity of their needs, challenges, barriers, and priorities for government social protection programmes, officials said.

The percentage of persons with disabilities covered by social protection increased from 3.9 per cent in 2017 to 7.3 per cent in 2024, Minister Kayisire said.

The system will help government and stakeholders in the disability sector to coordinate well-planned, targeted, and evidence-based support plans and advocate for change towards equal participation of people with disabilities in their communities, according to officials.

"We have refined our targeting through a social registry information system, which enables us to generate and utilize precise information on potential social protection beneficiaries. This system will facilitate linkages among multiple programmes while enhancing social programs' coordination, harmonization, and complementarity,” Kayisire noted.

She noted that 3.2 million households (99 per cent) have been registered in the Social Registry Information System.

"Government institutions and civil society organisations are actively reaching social programme recipients [by using data] from the system. Our focus today is on addressing vulnerabilities to various risks and strengthening social protection systems to provide adequate benefits while expanding coverage for poor and vulnerable people,” she said.

The new social protection strategy sets the foundation for a framework that is more inclusive and adaptable, she explained.

The new data system will help in the implementation of such a strategy to lift 975, 680 households out of poverty, according to ministry.

"Our main goals are to help people move out of poverty by creating opportunities for earning income to support those in poverty by ensuring access to essential services and income support, and to prevent poverty by providing income security and insurance mechanisms to protect individuals and families from shocks,” she added.