Moustapha Soumaré, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Rwanda and UNDP Resident Representative, praised the Government on behalf of development partners for the level of inclusiveness involved in the elaboration of the EDPRS. “A year-long consultative process brought together stakeholders from different corners of Rwandan society, to ensure an even greater degree of ownership on the part of the Rwandan citizen,” said Soumaré.” Soumaré also highlighted some sectors where progress had been made like education, health and agriculture. ‘The health sector is seeing progress and is beginning to benefit from a Sector-Wide Approach. The rate of people accessing health care services has doubled during the last five years. Decentralized services ensure greater equity across the population.” Soumaré said.
The DPM discusses how development partners can support the Government in implementing the EDPRS. The UK 's Minister for International Development, Shriti. Vadera echoed President Kagame's opinion that private sector growth is a necessary condition for long-term poverty reduction. “I strongly share [the President's] view that the purpose of aid is to no longer require it,” Minister Vadera told the meeting. “ To this end, she announced a joint initiative funded by DFID, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and other donors to support the government in a program dedicated to identifying and addressing the biggest constrains to sustained economic growth in Rwanda.
The first day sessions also featured a presentation of the 2007 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report, produced by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) with the support from UNDP to showcase progress toward reaching the UN-set eight goals for global development by the year 2015. “The MDGs Report provides an excellent snapshot of Rwanda 's development,” said NISR Director General, Dr. Louis Munyakazi. “It shows that the country has made significant progress and that with sustained and targeted investment, the attainment of the MDGs is within our reach'. On the Global Update Rwanda appears as the only African country to be cited twice as a success story: in women's representation and malaria control. Another example of progress is MDG 2 on literacy levels among 15 – 24 year olds which rose from 57.4 % in 2000 to 76.8 % in 2006. Also completion rate in primary school has increased from 22 % to 51.7 % in 2006.
The 2007 DPM concludes tomorrow with sessions dedicated to specific EDPRS priority sectors, including regional integration, governance and justice. Development partners will make official statements in response to Government presentations, and an official DPM Communiqué will be agreed upon by all delegates to the meeting.
Rwanda
