The prevailing gender norms in (rural) Rwanda continue to shape development outcomes. Despite Rwanda’s progress in promoting gender equality, especially in the political arena, gaps remain. This can be illustrated by the gender pay gap (women earn 32% less than men),

Moreover, the 2020 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) showed 35% of women aged 15-49 experienced physical violence, with intimate partner violence (IPV) being particularly high. CARE’s strong focus on gender justice, gender equality and women empowerment, including for example addressing SGBV at home level is still essential. Although Rwanda has a relatively strong legal frameworks and support systems to combat SGBV, they don’t easily reach community and home levels. In addition, there are other gaps: coordination gaps between SGBV support structures including safe spaces, limitations in case management and insufficient counseling and psychosocial support.

In this context, CARE Rwanda has engaged MDF Training and Consultancy and Regional Research Centre for Integrated Development (RCID Ltd) to carry out a mid-term program strategy for the period 2022 – 2025. The strategy aligns very well with national priorities like Rwanda’s Vision 2050, National Strategy for Transformation 1, and CARE Global priorities, which also emphasize a strong focus on women and girls. The primary objectives of this mid-term review are to assess the progress of the CARE Rwanda Program Strategy 2022-2025 on gender equality, economic women empowerment, and provide actionable recommendations for the remaining implementation period. The report shows that the program focuses on making life better for women and girls by promoting gender equality where a total reach of 1,272,392 women and girls, 85% of its target of 1,500,000 by 2025. In the area of Gender Equality and Right to Health, the program targets 500,000 women and girls but has already reached 696,169. For Women Economic Justice and Climate Justice, the goal is to assist 1,200,000 women and girls, and so far, 837,375 have been reached.