Rwandan Government Family Planning Mobilization Efforts Impact National, Community, and Individual Conversations and Motivations to Utilize Family Planning

Hilary Schwandt, Western Washington University
Madi Stapleton, Western Washington University
Angel Boulware, Spelman College
Julia Corey, Wheaton College
Ana Herrera, Northwest Vista Community College
Ethan Hudler, Whatcom Community College
Claudette Imbabazi, INES-Ruhengeri – Institute of Applied Sciences
Ilia King, Xavier University
Jessica Linus, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Innocent Manzi, INES-Ruhengeri – Institute of Applied Sciences
Maddie Merritt, Western Washington University
Lyn Mezier, State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY)
Abigail Miller, Western Washington University
Haley Morris, Western Oregon University
Uwase Musekura, Eastern Oregon University
Dieudonne Musemakweli, INES-Ruhengeri – Institute of Applied Sciences
Divine Mutuyimana, INES-Ruhengeri – Institute of Applied Sciences
Chimene Ntakarutimana, University of Kentucky
Nrali Patel, Arcadia University
Adriana Scanteianu , Rutgers University
Biganette-Evidente Shemeza, INES-Ruhengeri – Institute of Applied Sciences
Gi'Anna Sterling-Donaldson, Drexel University
Chantal Umutoni, INES-Ruhengeri – Institute of Applied Sciences
Liz Uwera, INES-Ruhengeri – Institute of Applied Sciences
Madeline Zeiler, Western Washington University
Seth L. Feinberg, Western Washington University

Rwanda’s rate of modern contraceptive use has risen from 17% to 53% over the past decade. Despite this change, current literature on Rwanda’s success is limited. The purpose of this study is to uncover what has led to such great improvement, how other nations can learn from them, and where Rwanda could continue its progress. In 2018, eight focus group discussions were held with family planning providers, and 32 in depth interviews were held with female contraceptive users. Our results show that a big factor in mobilizing citizens, and thus increasing demand for family planning, is top-down efforts such as government sponsored media campaigns and direct support from the president. Community level engagement via social and educational events are also important, and ultimately lead to interpersonal support among women, neighbors, and families. Other developing nations could learn from Rwanda’s program and follow similar steps when working towards demand generation.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 1. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior, & Reproductive Health 1