Ubudehe database to be ready soon

A database, containing the socio-economic information of all households in the country, will be available by March. “This database will categorize people from destitute, very poor, poor, average poor, up to the richest person,” explains Fidele Kayira, the national coordinator of Community Development Fund (CDF)-Ubudehe programme. He said the documentation is urgently needed for listing the beneficiaries of Mutuelles de Santé (community-based health insurance) and of Student Financing Agency for Rwanda (SFAR), for people who can’t afford it. Ubudehe is a government programme aimed at reducing poverty levels with a special emphasis on poor households. It operates at the lowest administrative unit, the cell, and brings together all members of the community to assess their socio-economic conditions, define their priorities and decide on what to do in order to improve their well being. “We have so far reached 8 million people, representing 120 villages across the country and we hope by the end of March to have registered the remaining three million,” said Kayira. The database will show the status of all households since 2007. Kayira however said that some people give false information about their status, placing themselves in a group they don’t belong to. “Some register as being very poor, aiming to benefit from the programme,” he said, adding that movement of people, especially in Kigali City, has been affecting the completion of the database. Since the start of the programme, 85 percent under the programme have been elevated to a better standard of living, according to CDF officials. Ends

National

Ubudehe database to be ready soon