Kigali, 5 August 2013
Today in Kigali, President Kagame and President Clinton announced a nutrition initiative that will result in the establishment of the first factory for fortified baby food in the region.
Launching the initiative as part of his two day working visit, President Clinton reaffirmed his belief in the success of the ongoing partnership with Rwanda:
“I have an enormous amount of confidence in this project because this is Rwanda and I have never seen you fail.”
Emphasizing the importance of the initiative, President Kagame pointed to the need to end malnutrition everywhere:
“Malnutrition is unacceptable in Rwanda and anywhere else in the world.The factory that will be producing the fortified nutritious food will benefit many more people in our region and will lead to the elimination of hunger and malnutrition and improved livelihoods.”
President Kagame added that addressing malnutrition should be seen as an integral part of achieving socio-economic development:
“Combating malnutrition effectively should be part and parcel of poverty reduction and economic development. This partnership comes at an opportune moment when we are launching our second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy. The plant to manufacture fortified baby foods will ensure that infants and mothers have access to healthy, nutritious food and will serve as an engine for economic development.”
Both President Kagame and President Clinton concluded with a commitment to ensure the success of this initiative.
The first baby food factory will be built with world-class machinery, standards and quality that will produce the wholly nutritious food and ensure access for all Rwandan children.
The launch of the factory took place as part of President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s two day working visit to Rwanda which included a visit to a coffee roasting facility built in partnership with Clinton Hunter Development Initiative and Ministry of Agriculture. President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton ended the day with a dinner hosted by President Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame at their residence.