A survey by the Institute of policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), conducted over a period of more than two years, has revealed that fewer women are using contraception.

According to the survey, only 27% of Rwandan women use any form of birth control, well short of the government’s 70% targets by 2015. The survey indicates that this has led to rapid population growth which could in turn hinder government’s development targets.

On the financial front, the survey shows that 52% of the population has no access to any kind of financial services something that the survey identified as a constraint to economic growth.

The researchers also found that the country has made excellent progress towards achieving the education targets although slower progress is being made in expanding technical and vocational education.

In the agriculture sector, the researchers found that 90% of agricultural production is food crops and 66% is consumed by producers as the increase in food production is not keeping pace with population growth.

The Executive Director of IPAR, Antonia Mutoro, urged all sectors that are still performing poorly, especially service delivery, to double their efforts if the country is to achieve the MDGs

"I would like to advise them to be exemplary, especially policy makers. For example, in service delivery, you can’t complain that there is poor service delivery if you’re delivering poor service to the people. Therefore, if the country is to meet the target they need to double the efforts,” she said.

IPAR is an independent research institute mandated to enhance evidence-based policy making and promote culture, capacity for debate and dialogue on policy issues through conducting policy- oriented analysis and research.

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