Overview

The Rwanda Health Initiative for Youth and Women (RHIYW) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization working to improve the lives and health of adolescents, young people, and women in Rwanda. Its mission centers on ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), supporting young people with education, services, and opportunities, and empowering women to make informed health choices.

Key Program Areas

Health Education & Youth Engagement
RHIYW organizes youth centers, events, and trainings to equip young people with knowledge on health, SRHR, and leadership.

Service Provision & Outreach
The organization works to make reproductive health services more accessible, especially in rural communities, including access to modern family planning methods.

Community Involvement
Activities often involve community health workers, local leaders, and volunteers to reach wider populations and ensure sustainability.

Gender-Based Violence and Rights
RHIYW raises awareness about gender-based violence (GBV), educates communities on human rights, and creates safe spaces for survivors and at-risk groups.

Adolescent-Friendly Services
The initiative emphasizes youth-friendly health services, ensuring adolescents have safe and supportive environments to access information and care.

Target Reach

Operates in both rural and urban settings, with a strong focus on underserved and hard-to-reach communities.

Prioritizes adolescent girls, young women, and youth volunteers, with programs that are youth-driven and community-centered.

Achievements

Built strong youth volunteer networks and leadership opportunities.

Increased access to modern family planning in areas with limited services.

Created safe spaces for adolescents and young women to discuss challenges and share experiences.

Challenges

Limited resources for reaching remote populations.

Social stigma around sexual and reproductive health.

Ensuring long-term sustainability of programs.

Strengthening monitoring and evaluation for measurable impact.

Current Context

Recent changes in Rwanda’s health policies—such as reducing the age of consent for accessing sexual and reproductive health services—support RHIYW’s mission, making it easier to extend services to adolescents. This shift strengthens the organization’s ability to provide safe, accessible, and inclusive healthcare.