Rwanda

 Hidetoshi Nakata visits the Millennium Village project

 Kigali , 15 February 2008: Hidetoshi Nakata, Former Japanese international football yesterday visited the Millennium Village Project in Mayange, eastern province of Rwanda. The project is implemented in partnerships with the Millennium Promise, the Government of Rwanda, the Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The programmes are implemented in partnership with the Government of Rwanda.

 The project the soccer star visited aims at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the area and is one of the Millennium Villages put in place in 10 African countries as a way to help rural communities to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The project is involved in various areas of the MDGs, especially the one of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, empowering women, reducing child mortality and improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases and ensure environmental sustainability.

“I am confident that after witnessing the challenges facing Rwanda and Africa, Nakata will be a good ambassador for the development of Africa”, said Safiou Esso Ouro-Doni, UNDP Deputy Country Director.

Accompanied by the project’s staff, Nakata visited Kagenge Nursery school, which is supported by the project. He also visited the Mayange Health Center, established with the support from the project. The center has played an important role in improving the health of citizens, thus contributing to the promotion of maternal health and the reduction of infant mortality. With the use of mosquito bed nets, the level of malaria infections has decreased drastically over the past years. People have been sensitized on fighting HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. “I have seen that people here are healthy and happy”, recognized Nakata, a symbol that the project has positively improved the livelihoods of the population. Before, very few people came to the health center because they either couldn't afford services or because they didn't think they would get good care. But now they have joined the health insurance scheme which allows them to get appropriate treatment for a very low cost.

The project has also supported local farmers in improving agricultural productivity by the use of fertilizers and improved seeds. This has contributed to the increase of crops in the area, which was in the past, hit by frequents droughts and famines.

Improving education is another sector where the Millennium Village project played a major role. Hidetoshi Nakata has the opportunity to visit the Primary School of Mayange, established by the Project in a bid to have access to education to as many children as possible. “Several class rooms have been constructed but many are still needed to ensure quality education for all. In some classes, one class room accommodates around 70 students pupils”, said Donald Ndahiro, project coordinator. This school is also supported by WFP which provides food to the pupils thus motivating the kids to attend classes. Before leaving the school, Nakata donated 3 footballs to the pupils.

Nakata and his team then visited a basket weaving cooperative by women. This is part of the project’s need to economically empower women. Currently, hundreds of women are being trained on making baskets, which are being exported to local markets and are helping women to earn additional income.

The former football star who is a good supporter of the work done by the United Nations is visiting a number of African countries including Rwanda to deepen his understanding of African development challenges and the collective response by the UN and other partners. The former Japanese player is visiting Africa ahead of the 4 th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) to be held in Tokyo, Japan on 28-30 May 2008.

The TICAD IV mobilizes knowledge and resources of the international community in the core areas of boosting Economic Growth, ensuring Human Security including achieving MDGs and consolidation of peace, and addressing environment challenges. In order to strengthen the recent positive trends in Africa in both political and economic areas, the international community will discuss concrete initiatives under the theme “Towards a Vibrant Africa: Continent of Hope and Opportunity.” The TICAD aims at promoting high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and their partners; and mobilizing support for African-owned development initiatives.

The Millennium Village project aims at achieving the MDGs in Mayange sector within 5 years and simultaneously seeks to expand adoption of MDG interventions to other areas in the country. It began with a population of 5,000 people and expected to reach a target of 600,000 people once it is scaled up through the government’s programs called ‘Vision 2020 Umurenge’, a program that will help speed up the achievement of development objectives at the sector level.

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About the TICAD:
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was launched in 1993 to promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners. It has since evolved into a major global framework to facilitate the implementation of initiatives for promoting African development under the dual principle of African "ownership" and international "partnership". A central feature of this framework is the cooperation between Asia and Africa.For more information, please visit http://www.undp.org/ticad2/ 

About the UNDP:
UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges as they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. For more information, please visit http://www.undp.org.rw .

Rwanda piloting UN Reform:
Rwanda is one of eight countries in the world piloting the Delivering as One reform. This means that as from 2008 UN activities in Rwanda will be coordinated under One Programme. UN agencies implementing the One Programme are FAO, IFAD, ILO, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNCDF, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNECA, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UN-HABITAT, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNIFEM, UNV, WFP and WHO.

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