More than one hundred youth volunteers from Gasabo District attended an advocacy meeting organized by Réseau des Femmes Oeuvrant pour le Développement Rural (Réseau des Femmes) to inform them about important changes in health-related laws in Rwanda.
The meeting, held on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, focused on two key legal instruments: Law No. 026/2025 of September 17, 2025, regulating healthcare services in Rwanda, and Ministerial order n° 002/moh/2024 of 29/11/2024 amending ministerial order n° 002/moh/2019 of 08/04/2019 determining conditions to be satisfied for a medical doctor to perform an abortion.
The youth volunteers were particularly informed about the change in the age of consent for accessing healthcare services, which has been lowered from 18 to 15 years.
They were also briefed on the revised ministerial order, which now allow safe abortion services to be provided at the health centre level, whereas previously they were permitted only in hospitals and polyclinics.
Annonciata Mukayitete, the Legal Representative of Réseau des Femmes, explained the reasons behind initiating these discussions.
“A law may exist, but people are not always aware of it. It requires effort to inform the public about it, and that is what we are currently doing.” She said
We carried out advocacy so that the laws could be adopted by Parliament, and now the next step is to raise awareness about it among different groups of people.” She added
Being experienced in conducting awareness campaigns on various issues, the youth volunteers ensure their active engagement in campaigning for the laws.
“Conducting awareness campaigns is something we do on a daily basis. We will go around teaching, starting from the village level, especially targeting those who are most affected by the law.” Said Mugwaneza Euphrem, the Vice- Coordinator of Youth Volunteers in gasabo District.
“We will start in schools because that is where most of the youth are. It is also necessary for the parents to learn about the laws, so that everyone knows their rights.” Said Uwase Diane, a youth volunteer from Gatsata Sector.
Also read – Gasabo: Leaders expected to take active role in disseminating new health-related laws
The advocacy that Réseau des Femmes has carried out across various sectors, along with the awareness campaigns they continue to run, are part of their five-year project on sexual and reproductive health (Projet SDSR-Rwanda), implemented in all 15 sectors of Gasabo District, in partnership with the Canadian organization l’AMIE, with support from Global Affairs Canada.
The organization believes that working closely with youth volunteers will strengthen its awareness campaigns, both in reach and over the long term.
