Ending hunger and malnutrition, and building human capacity is “a moral obligation that we need to fulfill as the current generation,” highlighted Dr. Gerardine Mukeshimana, the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, as she opened the Compact2025 Forum in Kigali, Rwanda on October 23, 2017. Jointly hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources of Rwanda, the Forum built on recommendations from the first Roundtable Discussion held in Kigali last year, and focused on how Rwanda can accelerate progress to end hunger and malnutrition by 2025.

Minister Mukeshimana updated the Forum of key progress made in Rwanda based on last year’s recommendations, emphasizing that in addition to established processes, all sectors and stakeholders must join hands to improve coordinated efforts to end hunger and malnutrition. In particular, mainstreaming nutrition across sectors is key. Dr. Shenggen Fan, Director General of IFPRI, also welcomed stakeholders and set the stage for the presentations and discussions of the Forum.