Background Type 2 Diabetes Miletus (T2DM) is a public health burdens that alarmingly increases and leads to morbidity and mortality over the last decades globally. Its management is multifaceted and adherence to diabetic medications plays great roles in life of T2DM patients. But epidemiology on adherence and its associated factors remain unknown in Rwanda. Therefore, this study determined the extent of non-adherence and its predictors among T2DM patients seeking healthcare services at the Clinique Medicale la Fraternite. Methods A cross-sectional study among 200 adults’ patients with T2DM receiving care in the Medicale la Fraternite clinic was investigated. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were performed based on odds ratio employed to examine associated predictors of non-adherence. The cut-off value for all statistical significances tests were considered at p < 0.05 with 95% for the confidence intervals. Results Overall, more than a half of T2DM patients (53.5%) had poor medication adherence. Being females [OR = 2.1, 95%CI(1.13–3.71), p = 0.002], consuming anti-diabetic drugs for 4–10 years [OR = 2.18, 95%CI(1.09–4.34), p = 0.027], experiencing poor communication with healthcare providers [OR = 2.4; 95%CI (1.36–4.25), p = 0.003] and being perceived as burden of the family [OR = 5.8; 95%CI(1.3–25.7), p < 0.021] had higher odds of non-adherence to anti-diabetic medications. Those with poor HbA1C [OR = 4.26; 95%CI(1.7–10.67), p = 0.002] had 4.26 times higher odds to be non-adherent compared to those with good HbA1C. Respondents with primary [OR = 3.56; 95%CI (1.12–11.28), p = 0.031] and secondary education [OR = 2.96; 95%CI (1.11–7.87), p = 0.03] were more likely to be non-adherent than those with informal education respectively. Those with normal BMI [OR = 5.17; 95%CI(1.63–16.37), p = 0.005] and those with overweight or obese [OR = 3.6; 95%CI (1.04–9.1), p < 0.02] had higher odds of being non-adherent than those with underweight. Conclusion Sex, glycaemia, communication with healthcare providers, education and gycosylated hemoglobin were the major predictors of non-adherence. Interventions for tackling this problem through bringing together efforts to stem this epidemic and controlling predictors of non-adherence are urgently recommended.

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The aim of the present study was to identify and describe the factors influencing feeding practices of children aged 6–23 months in Rwanda. This is a cross-sectional descriptive qualitative study. A total of ten focus group discussions were conducted separately with mothers, fathers, grandmothers and community health workers (CHWs) from five different districts in Rwanda. The discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed using qualitative data analysis software, Atlas.ti. The study participants were mothers, fathers and grandmothers of children aged 6–23 months and CHWs in charge of child health. Caregivers’ knowledge and beliefs about the benefits of breast-feeding and timely introduction of complementary food were found to be the primary individual factors facilitating good infant and young child feeding practices. The common belief of caregivers that infants should be given liquids (thin gruel, fruit juices and meat broth) as first foods instead of semi-solid foods was a barrier to good feeding practices. The community-based nutrition education and counselling programmes were facilitators of good complementary practices at the group level. At the society level, poverty in rural agrarian households was a barrier to optimal feeding practices. The study shows that there is a need to empower caregivers with more specific guidelines, especially on complementary feeding.

Stunted linear growth continues to be a public health problem that overwhelms the entire world and, particularly, developing countries. Despite several interventions designed and implemented to reduce stunting, the rate of 33.1% is still high for the proposed target of 19% in 2024. This study investigated the prevalence and associated factors of stunting among children aged 6–23 months from poor households in Rwanda. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 817 mother–child dyads (two individuals from one home) living in low-income families in five districts with a high prevalence of stunting. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the prevalence of stunting. In addition, we used bivariate analysis and a multivariate logistic regression model to measure the strength of the association between childhood stunting and exposure variables. The prevalence of stunting was 34.1%. Children from households without a vegetable garden (AOR = 2.165, p-value < 0.01), children aged 19–23 months (AOR = 4.410, p-value = 0.01), and children aged 13–18 months (AOR = 2.788, p-value = 0.08) showed increased likelihood of stunting. On the other hand, children whose mothers were not exposed to physical violence (AOR = 0.145, p-value < 0.001), those whose fathers were working (AOR = 0.036, p-value = 0.001), those whose parents were both working (AOR = 0.208, p-value = 0.029), and children whose mothers demonstrated good hand washing practice (AOR = 0.181, p-value < 0.001) were less likely to be stunted. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating the promotion of handwashing practices, owning vegetable gardens, and intimate partner violence prevention in the interventions to fight child stunting.

Maternal undernutrition remains a major public health concern in Rwanda despite significant gains and progress. An integration of nutrition‐specific and nutrition‐sensitive interventions was implemented in five districts of Rwanda to improve maternal and child nutrition. The package included nutrition education and counselling, promotion of agricultural productivity, promotion of financial literacy/economic resilience and provision of Water, Hygiene and Sanitation services. However, there is limited evidence about the effect of such interventions in reducing maternal undernutrition. A postintervention quasi‐experimental study was conducted among pregnant women to determine the effect of the integrated intervention on their nutritional status. It was carried out in two intervention districts, namely Kicukiro and Kayonza, and two control districts, namely Gasabo and Gisagara between November 2020 and June 2021. Five hundred and fifty‐two women were recruited for the intervention arm, while 545 were recruited for the control arm. Maternal undernutrition was defined as either having low mid‐upper arm circumference (<23 cm) during delivery or low body mass index (<18.5 kg/m2) in the first trimester or both. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the effect of the integrated interventions. The prevalence of maternal undernutrition was significantly lower in the intervention group compared with the control group (4.7% vs. 18.2%; p < 0.001). After controlling the potential confounders, the risk of maternal undernutrition was 77.0% lower in the intervention group than in the control group [adjusted odds ratio= 0.23; 95% confidence interval = 0.15–0.36; p < 0.001]. Further studies are therefore recommended to establish causation and inform the potential scale‐up of these interventions nationally in Rwanda.