More than 300,000 vulnerable people were affected after the United States suspended funding to programmes supporting communities through Caritas Rwanda, according to the charity’s 2025 activity report.
The funding suspension forced the organisation to stop assistance to more than 205,000 women of reproductive age who had been receiving support through the affected programmes.
Caritas Rwanda also said support was halted for 181,250 children under six and their vulnerable parents.
About 1,200 refugees who had been receiving assistance to improve their livelihoods were also affected.
The report does not give the total value of the U.S. funding that was suspended, but says the disruption affected programmes targeting vulnerable communities.
Despite the funding setback, Caritas Rwanda said it continued its broader work supporting people who struggle to access essential services.
In 2025, the organisation said its programmes reached more than 3.4 million people across Rwanda.
Healthcare accounted for a large share of that work, with more than 1.15 million people receiving services through 121 Catholic-affiliated hospitals.
More than 2 million people affected by diseases including malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer also received support.
Caritas Rwanda said more than 707,000 people received assistance related to mental health, including counselling, treatment and referrals.
The organisation also reported support for more than 527,000 children under six through 19,976 early childhood development centres.
Its other programmes reached more than 18,000 farmers, 122,096 people seeking access to financial services and 48,801 rural entrepreneurs.
Caritas Rwanda said individual donations and contributions from partners remain important sources of funding.
Money collected during the Catholic Church’s August charity month increased to more than 239 million francs in 2025, up 45% from more than 165 million francs collected in 2024.
