Preserving Rwanda's Progress Towards Reducing Maternal and Child Mortality and Ensuring Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services

Improvements in the health outcomes of women, young girls, and children will be key to Rwanda attaining three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) focused on good health and well-being (SDG3), gender equality (SDG5), and reduced inequalities (SDG10). However, the direct and indirect effects of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and other emergencies threaten to stall and even undermine these achievements. To promote continued progress towards reducing maternal and child mortality and ensure equitable access to sexual and reproductive health services, Rwanda may consider prioritizing initiatives that ensure a steady provision of those services with a well-informed population to maintain and increase the demand of these routine health services, particularly in the context of the unexpected