Claver Gatete, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning(Left) and Yasser El-Gammal, Wold Bank Country Manager exchanging document after the signing
Rwanda has added children and women living with disability on the list of beneficiaries of a direct support that was initially designated for the poor elderly.
Under the Vision 2020 Umurenge (VUP) Programme which started in 2007, Rwanda provides the monthly stipend to the elderly, financial support to small projects and offers paid public works to the poor who have the strength to work. The country has so far spent Rwf518 billion in the program.
On Thursday, Rwanda and World Bank signed $80 million (Rwf7 billion) financing agreement that will help to expand criteria for direct support beneficiaries while including poor households that have disabled members.
Destined to Strengthening Social Protection Project (SSPP) this fund will add 11,000 households with members living with disabilities on the list of direct support beneficiaries. It was found that this category of the disabled will mainly include women and children.
This will bring the number of direct support beneficiaries to 106846 households.
“SSP is part of the wider Government of Rwanda and World Bank program to combat chronic malnutrition and invest in the early years, along with other World Bank supported projects namely the Stunting Prevention and Reduction and Agricultural Projects,” Yasser El-Gammal, Wold Bank Country Manager said.
Meanwhile, this support will also increase the number of beneficiaries of public works.
It is expected that paid public works support will continue to increase from the current 128,000 households (in 240 sectors) to approximately 141,361 (in 270 sectors).
