Rwanda

Rwanda is one of Africa's most remarkable success stories. Fifteen years after the devastation of the genocide, it is a country transformed. Average economic growth of 6-10% a year has been matched by major improvements in social indicators like health, where under-5 mortality has halved since 2000, and governance, where political stability, low corruption and the highest levels of female parliamentary representation in the world have set Rwanda apart.

Today, Rwanda has ambitious plans to become a middle-income country within a generation. Meeting this goal will require a step-change in the level of private sector investment and in the capability of government to deliver for all Rwandans.

The Rwanda Governance Project was launched by Tony Blair and President Paul Kagame in February 2008. It has three overarching objectives:

1. To strengthen good governance by building capacity in the Office of the President, Office of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet process

2. To enrich the public policy debate and strengthen the indigenous capacity for independent policy development by helping to set up Rwanda's first think-tank.

3. To promote sustainable investment to drive Rwanda's development, by providing support and advice to key institutions like the Rwanda Development Board.

Experts have been on the ground in Kigali since July of 2008. A new team started work in October 2009 and will be there for 12 months. They are embedded in key institutions, chosen for their strategic importance to the objectives of the project.

Early successes include helping to establish the President's new Strategy and Policy Unit and a Co-ordination Unit and Cabinet Secretariat in the Office of the Prime Minister, guiding the development and launch of the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research, and developing Rwanda's strategy to attract private sector investment by supporting the new Rwandan Development Board.

Tony Blair recently visited Rwanda to review the progress of the project. To find out more about his trip, click here.

To watch Tony Blair talking about his work in Rwanda, click here.

To contact the Rwanda team, click here.