Health and welfare
News •
Health conditions in Rwanda, once poor, have improved in the 21st century owing to aggressive government policies and funding as well as funding from international donors. New health care facilities have been constructed throughout the country, and each town has trained health care workers, making it easier for Rwandans to access medical care. The government works in partnership with nongovernmental organizations and other entities to raise awareness of and treat different health issues. In addition, the government’s health care insurance plan has made health care more affordable for many Rwandans. However, there is still a need for more doctors, especially those with areas of specialization and particularly in rural areas.
Although the country still has a relatively high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, innovative approaches to treatment resulted in the rate’s being halved within two years during the early 2000s. Malaria and tuberculosis are still serious health concerns, although in the first decade of the 21st century, the number of deaths from malaria dropped considerably, and the number of cases of tuberculosis declined. Nutritional deficiencies are a threat to the population, particularly to young children.
Education
Six years of primary education is compulsory beginning at age seven. It is followed by six years of secondary education, consisting of two three-year cycles; the first cycle is also compulsory. Beginning in the 2000s the government implemented, in stages, free primary and secondary education.
In the early 1990s more than two-thirds of the primary-school-age population was enrolled, but the civil strife and the 1994 genocide severely disrupted the school system. Even prior to that, few Rwandans attended secondary schools, as those facilities had space for only 10 percent of the primary-school graduates. Progress has been made with rebuilding the education system, and more than four-fifths of the primary-school-age population was enrolled by the mid-2010s, with more than three-fifths completing their primary education. Enrollment in secondary schools has shown a marked increase since 2009.
There are several private universities and colleges in Rwanda, as well as the University of Rwanda, which was formed by the 2013 merger of the seven existing public universities and colleges. Courses at the university level were previously taught in French, but English instruction was added in the mid-1990s to accommodate the postwar influx of Anglophone returnees from Uganda. Since 2008 English has been designated the language of instruction at all levels of education.
About three-fifths of the population is literate, with men enjoying a slightly higher literacy rate than women.
Cultural life
Holidays in Rwanda include those associated with the majority Christian population, such as Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas. The Feast of the Assumption is observed by the Roman Catholic community on August 15. Holidays celebrated by the Muslim community include ʿĪd al-Fiṭr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā, which marks the culmination of the hajj. Other holidays include Genocide Memorial Day, observed on April 7, and Independence Day, celebrated on July 1.
The arts
Much of Rwanda’s traditional cultural heritage revolved around dances, praise songs, and dynastic poems designed to enhance the legitimacy of the Tutsi kingship. Since independence in 1962 another set of traditions has emerged, emphasizing a different cultural stream, identified with a Hutu heritage. Regional dances, including the celebrated hoe dance of the north, are given pride of place in the country’s cultural repertoire. Traditional crafts such as basketry, ceramics, and ironworks provide another element of continuity with the past.
Cultural institutions
Rwanda’s National Ballet and the Impala Orchestra add considerable luster to the country’s cultural life, the former through a choreography leaning heavily on traditional folk dances and the latter through a distinctly modern musical repertoire. For many years the Association des Écrivains du Rwanda kept alive the best of Rwanda’s literary traditions, while the bimonthly review Revue Dialogue provides a forum for a vigorous intellectual exchange on a wide range of social and cultural issues.
Sports and recreation
Traditional sport in Rwanda was a form of celebration, a friendly competition between community members during feasts and holidays or a way to honor visiting dignitaries. Friends and family, especially young men, would match skills and strength in such events as wrestling, high jumping, and archery and by hurling a lance through a moving hoop.
The modern era of sport in Rwanda emerged gradually in the middle of the 20th century with greater exposure to international sports such as football (soccer), volleyball, track and field (athletics), and, later, basketball. Football is the most popular team sport in the country. Senior and junior clubs compete in regular league play, and the Rwanda Équipe Nationale de Football features the more accomplished players.
Rwanda’s first Olympic appearance was at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, where runner Marcianne Mukamurenzi attracted international attention for her unorthodox training regimen; while working as a mail carrier and messenger for the Rwandan Ministry of Youth, Sport, and Culture, she sped from one destination to the next, making deliveries across Kigali’s hilly terrain entirely on foot. Though the country has yet to earn a medal, several athletes, including Mathias Ntawulikura and Ildephonse Sehirwa, have had strong showings.
Media and publishing
Notable publications include Rwanda Herald and New Times (English), La Relève (French), and Kinyamateka (Kinyarwanda). While television ownership is not widespread in Rwanda outside Kigali, the government maintains one broadcast station, which offers programming in Kinyarwanda, French, and English. Since the advent of digital broadcasting in the country in 2013, several privately owned stations have begun operation. Far more common in Rwandan households is the radio. The state-operated Radio Rwanda broadcasts in Kinyarwanda, Swahili, French, and English; there are also several privately owned stations as well.
History
This discussion focuses on Rwanda from the 16th century. For a treatment of earlier periods and of the country in its regional context, see Central Africa, history of.
Precolonial Rwanda
The area that is now Rwanda is believed to have been initially settled by the Twa, who were closely followed by the Hutu, probably sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries, and then by the Tutsi beginning in the 14th century. Tutsi traditions trace the birth of the Rwanda kingdom to the miraculous feats of its founding hero, Gihanga, whose coming to Rwanda is said to coincide with the advent of civilization. A more historical appraisal, however, would emphasize a long process of Tutsi migrations from the north, culminating in the 16th century with the emergence of a small nuclear kingdom in the central region, ruled by the Tutsi minority, that persisted until the arrival of Europeans in the 19th century. Because of this, Rwanda differs from most countries in sub-Saharan Africa in that its general boundaries were not drawn by European powers but reflect the fully established nation-state that existed until the introduction of German rule.
