Rwanda Second Community Living Standards Grant

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Rwanda is one of Africa's most densely populated countries, with its modest geographical size accommodating an estimated population of 9.6 million. It is also among the poorest, despite having made significant progress in the past decade. The proportion of the population that national household surveys identified as poor decreased slightly from 60 percent in 2000-01 to 57 percent in 2005-06. However, because of relatively rapid population growth estimated at 2.7 percent per year and an increase in income inequality, the estimated total number of people living in poverty rose from 4.8 million in 2000-01 to 5.4 million in 2005-06. More than 90 percent of the poor live in rural areas, and poverty remains deep and pervasive. The Bank's Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Rwanda has, as its second strategic theme, a reduction in social vulnerability by ensuring that the most vulnerable Rwandans also benefit from growth and by helping Rwanda make further progress in building a more stable society. The objective of the program is to support Government of Rwanda (GoR) social protection and health policy reforms designed to reduce extreme poverty, initially in 30 pilot sectors, and to expand access to high-impact health, nutrition and population interventions at the community level.