UN Resident Coordinator Pays a Courtesy Call on the First Lady of Rwanda: Exploring Strategic Partnership Opportunities between the UN and Imbuto Foundation

On Monday 30th January 2023, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Rwanda, Mr. Ozonnia Ojielo paid a courtesy call to the First Lady of Rwanda, Her Excellency Mrs. Jeannette Kagame, who is also the Chairperson of Imbuto Foundation.

The meeting provided an important platform for discussion on areas of mutual interest, collaboration and partnership between the UN and Imbuto Foundation (IF) -- particularly with regards to quality education, health, and empowerment programmes especially for women and children.

“…the goals of Imbuto and UN are well aligned; the UN and the Foundation [are] natural partners in the efforts of poverty reduction for the people of Rwanda.” First Lady of Rwanda, H.E. Jeannette Kagame

Joint efforts on the SDGs

The First Lady of Rwanda echoed her appreciation for the UN’s continued commitment to the people of Rwanda. She lauded the UN for its support to the Government of Rwanda in its efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and highlighted the importance of continuing to work together to ensure sustainable development in the country.

Her Excellency also expressed her appreciation for the UN’s continued support to the Government of Rwanda in its efforts to achieve gender equality and equity, and further reiterated her commitment to the empowerment of women and youth and highlighted the various initiatives undertaken by Imbuto Foundation.

On his part, the UN Resident Coordinator commended the Government of Rwanda for its commitment to the SDGs and expressed his appreciation for the leadership of the First Lady in championing various social and economic initiatives in the country and beyond.

Existing challenges that need collective interventions

Rwanda has made significant strides in economic and social development. However, there are existing challenges that need to be tackled through collective interventions. Some of these include stunting among children in several districts, high cases of teen pregnancies, limited early childhood development centres and some challenges that hit hardest women in the rural setting.

There are a number of interventions that have already been implemented and are on-going by Government, civil society organisations, community-based organizations among many other development partners to address some of these issues. However, there is still much more work that needs to be done to ensure that all Rwandans, regardless of gender, age, or background, have the opportunity to lead fulfilling and prosperous lives.

UN and IF future collaborations

Drawing on lessons learnt from past experiences and the partnerships with different UN agencies, the Resident Coordinator and the First Lady reinforced a direction for an integrated and collective approach that identifies interlinkages of sectors in the Imbuto Foundation and UN Rwanda collaboration. They also underscored the need to adopt innovative ideas as well as share knowledge and best practices in order to maximize the impact of their joint programmes.

“Your Excellency, we look forward to working with Imbuto Foundation. We [at the UN] are committed to reposition ourselves to ensure impactful results through our joint initiatives, for the benefit of the most vulnerable leaving no one behind.” UN Rwanda Resident Coordinator, Mr. Ozonnia Ojielo. 

The visit concluded with an agreement for Heads of UN Agencies to meet with the Foundation in the near future to discuss further details of the integrated approach and financing to programming as well as the complementariness of different stakeholders.