The Undeniable Progress in Rwanda, By Margee Ensign

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Imagine a country that lost over 14% of its population thirty-two years ago this year in a genocide. A country where infrastructure was devastated, all the country’s major sectors including agriculture, education, health and the justice sector were destroyed. Where most of the genocide perpetrators remained in the country.

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The country is Rwanda and because of the nearly complete destruction, few thought Rwanda would be able to rebuild after the Genocide Against the Tutsis in 1994.

Fast forward thirty-two years: at the World Bank meetings last month in Washington, D.C. Rwanda was honoured for its very strong performance in the newly launched Human Capital Index Plus (HCI+).

According to the World Bank, the Index “measures the human capital a child born today can expect to accumulate over their working life…the likelihood that children today will grow into healthy, educated and productive adults. It measures is what individuals need to lead healthy, educated and successful lives.

According to the World Bank: “Human Capital is everything that makes people productive from education and skills to health and resilience. These qualities are valuable in their own right and essential for success in life and work. They help people learn, earn, grow and contribute to their communities.” The index measures education, health and employment and compares countries to those at similar income levels.

Building human capital is the real infrastructure of a country and is essential not only to improve the lives of individuals, but contributes to global growth.

According to the World Bank, “Differences in human capital account for around 60% of the global variation in GDP per capita.”

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The data cited in the award include Rwanda’s progress in child survival (85%), expected years of school (6.5), learning-adjusted years of school (3.8), and adult survival rate (0.4). its success in improving gender equity and its focus on “creating high-tech human capital, such as through the Kigali Innovation City project. “

There is additional data that shows the remarkable progress in Rwanda in the last three decades. 1994 life expectancy was 28. By 2024 it had reached 68 years. GDP per capita in 1994 was $300. By 2024 it was just under $1000.

During this same period the country’s population doubled from about 7 million in 1994 to close to 15 million in 2024. In 1994 Rwanda had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Maternal mortality measures the probability of a woman dying during, and shortly after birth. In 1994 it was 1116 per 100,000 but by 2023 had declined to 229. In contrast, Nigeria, the largest country on the continent and one of the richest, had a maternal mortality rate of 993 in 2023.

There are many reasons Rwanda has been able to make such impressive development progress in three decades. After the genocide, Rwanda adapted traditional “Homegrown Solutions.” Gacaca, community-based trials, became the basis for reconciliation, healing and unity. Close to two million cases were heard by these courts. Imihigo transformed from a competitive activity to a performance-based accountability and governance nation-wide initiative.

Elected officials actually have to deliver what they promise. The 2003 Constitution introduced a 30% gender quota for woman in all elected government positions. As a result, Rwanda has more women in Parliament than any country in the world at 63.8%. Globally, the average is 27.5%

Accountability, equity and visionary leadership has led to this award-winning progress. Of course, many challenges remain. The ongoing conflict with the DRC, generating employment for such a fast-growing population, increasing the quality of education, among others. But Rwanda is an example of what can happen, after unimaginable suffering, when a country focuses on the common good not division. It offers models and hope for many countries experiencing war and conflict at this perilous moment.

One of the stages of genocide documented by scholars is that at the end of a genocide, deniers claim it didn’t happen, or that the rescuers were the perpetrators. This has certainly happened with Rwanda’s Genocide Against the Tutsi. Many have also denied the progress that the World Bank acknowledged last week. The progress and the hope in Rwanda are undeniable.

Dr. Margee Ensign was the president of AUN for eight years, and has been a university president on three continents, including the U.S.