Over the last decades, Rwanda witnessed a number of natural and man-induced disasters that culminated into the loss of lives and property and the displacement of people. The frequency and intensity of natural hazard-induced disasters, particularly floods and droughts, have significantly increased over the last few years.
In 2012, Rwanda experienced abnormal heavy rains between January and May. The average of rainfall increased from 40–70 mm in 2011 to 80–115mm in 2012 for the same period. This resulted in floods, landslides and in the destruction of public infrastructure and people’s properties. From January to May 2012, 32 people died because of these rains, 1434 houses, 11 roads, 4 bridges as well as 3 dykes have been destroyed, 2227 ha of crops have been washed away and 25 schools have been destroyed or seriously affected.
The Government of Rwanda made considerable efforts in the last few years to address the issue of disasters. It now considers Disaster Risk Reduction as a top priority as it is reflected in its upcoming second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS 2013-2018) where Disaster Risk Reduction is considered as a cross-cutting issue to be mainstreamed in all ministries.
UNDP Rwanda mobilized US$ 700.000 from the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program to support the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR) in the development of comprehensive disaster risk profiles in Rwanda. The main objective of the program is to address prevention, mitigation and preparedness to natural hazards as part of a global Disaster Risk Reduction effort.
Over a period of 2 years, UNDP will provide technical assistance and capacity development support to MIDIMAR to set up an Evidence-based Comprehensive National Disaster Risk Analysis. The project will address the lack of knowledge and information about the different disaster risks... It will help the Government of Rwanda to better design targeted and
contextualized risk reduction and adaptation programmes.