The Ambassador of China to Rwanda and UNICEF Representative in Rwanda met today to kick-off the project titled “Enhancing Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Rwanda through South-South Cooperation.”, supported by the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM). This is the first ever support from the Government of China to UNICEF Rwanda.
The project aims to advance ECD in Rwanda, emphasizing knowledge exchange, capacity-building, and providing integrated support for young children and their families.
This meeting follows the recent launch of the strategic partnership for children between Rwanda and China with UNICEF’s support, which was officially announced last month in Beijing. This milestone event, attended by Rwanda’s Ambassador to China, H.E. James Kimonyo, alongside UNICEF Representatives from China (in-person) and Rwanda (online), underscored a shared commitment to investing in children’s early years as a foundation for national development.
The project will strengthen access to high-quality, integrated ECD services across 11 priority districts, including 7 cross-border and market-based ECD centers. The project spanning a period of 18 months will directly benefit more than 2,100 children including children with disabilities, and indirectly benefit about 1.5 million children, their parents, and ECD professionals by enhancing service delivery and promoting positive parenting practices.
Through this cooperation, Rwanda will benefit from China’s extensive experience in implementing innovative, community-based approaches to ECD. Key areas of focus include strengthening community parenting programmes, reinforcing multi-sectoral collaboration across health, education, and social services, and learning China’s “Barefoot Social Worker” model to enhance local child services. Additionally, technical workshops and knowledge exchanges will facilitate learning and best practices between experts from both countries.
“As a good friend and good partner of Rwanda, China is committed to strengthening cooperation with Rwanda to support the well-being and development of young children. Early Childhood Development is a crucial investment in the future, and through this partnership, we aim to share our experience in community-based child services and innovative ECD models, and promote Rwanda National Strategy for Transformation (NST2) and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the principle leaving no one behind.” Said Wang Xuekun, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda.
Ambassador Wang also said, this project reflects the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Rwanda in the child development area, following the successful FOCAC Beijing Summit last year. In the future, China is willing to continue the cooperation with UNICEF Rwanda under the South-South cooperation, and ensure that more children in Rwanda receive the care, education, and support they need to reach their full potential.
“As Rwanda continues to expand access to early childhood development services, collaboration with China provides a unique opportunity to integrate proven models and innovative approaches that can accelerate progress,” said Lieke van de Wiel, UNICEF Representative in Rwanda. “By leveraging China’s experience and Rwanda’s commitment to investing in young children, we can ensure that every child has the foundation they need to thrive.”
Rwanda has prioritized ECD as a key pillar of the National Strategy of Transformation (2024-2029), aiming to increase ECD service coverage from 24 per cent to 45 per cent nationwide and significantly reduce child stunting rates from 33 per cent to 15 per cent by 2029.
Through collaboration with China, UNICEF and its partners will work to strengthen Rwanda’s ECD workforce, engage parents and caregivers in positive child-rearing practices, and explore innovative business models to enhance ECD sustainability.
As this partnership progresses, UNICEF remains committed to supporting Rwanda’s National Child Development Agency (NCDA), the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), the Rwanda Education Board (REB), private sector actors, and community-based organizations to ensure that every child has the best start in life. (End)