MenCare Changemaker Summit: RWAMREC Executive Director Represents Rwanda at Global MenCare Changemaker Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 27–30 May 2026
The MenCare Changemaker Summit is a landmark global initiative organized by Equimundo and WOW – Women of the World, bringing together more than 100 influential leaders from civil society, governments, academia, media, culture, and the private sector to develop practical solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing men, boys, and masculinity around the world today. The summit forms part of a two-year global journey aimed at building a world where caring manhood becomes the new normal.Fidele Rutayisire was selected as one of the global MenCare Changemakers and invited to contribute to the Men's Health and Health for All Action Track, alongside leading experts, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from across the world. The action track was organized in partnership with Global Action on Men's Health and focused on addressing the persistent and often overlooked health inequalities affecting men and boys globally.
Advancing the Global Conversation on Men's Health
During the first two days of the summit, participants in the Men's Health Action Track examined evidence showing that men, particularly poor and marginalized men, often experience poorer health outcomes and shorter life expectancy due to a combination of structural inequalities, harmful gender norms, limited access to health services, and inadequate public policies. Discussions emphasized that improving men's health is not a competing agenda with women's health but rather an essential component of achieving health and wellbeing for all.
The group reached several important conclusions and agreed on a roadmap for collective action over the next fifteen months:
Reframe the global narrative on men's health as a public health and social justice issue.
Develop practical guidance for policymakers to create and implement effective men's health policies.
Equip healthcare professionals with tools and approaches that better engage men and boys in health services.
Launch a global public awareness campaign communicating a simple but powerful message: "You are seen, and your health matters."
These solutions will be further developed and refined before the MenCare Changemakers reconvene in Melbourne, Australia, in 2027.
Changemakers in men’s health for track
Sharing Rwanda's Experience in Engaging Men in Care Work
On the final two days of the summit, participants attended a range of workshops, learning sessions, site visits, and public dialogues exploring how caring masculinities can contribute to healthier families, communities, and societies.
A highlight of the summit was Fidele Rutayisire's participation as a panelist in a session on Men and Care. During the discussion, he shared RWAMREC's experience implementing the internationally recognized Bandebereho Program, which engages men as caring fathers, supportive partners, and champions of gender equality.
Fidele Rutayisire, RWAMREC Executive Director at the MenCare Changemaker Summit.
Drawing on nearly two decades of RWAMREC's work in Rwanda, he highlighted how engaging men in caregiving and unpaid care work has contributed to:
Improved family relationships and communication;
Increased men's participation in childcare and household responsibilities;
Reduced intimate partner violence;
Better maternal and child health outcomes;
Stronger gender equality within households and communities.
The discussion generated significant interest among participants from different regions of the world who were eager to learn from Rwanda's experience and the evidence generated through Bandebereho.
Fidele Rutayisire speaking during the Men and Care panel discussion at the MenCare Changemaker Summit.
Strengthening RWAMREC's Global Leadership
Participation in the MenCare Changemaker Summit provided an important opportunity for RWAMREC to contribute to global conversations on men's health, care work, and gender equality while building new partnerships with international leaders and organizations working to transform harmful gender norms.
The summit reaffirmed RWAMREC's belief that engaging men and boys is essential for creating healthier families, advancing women's rights, promoting positive masculinity, and building more equitable societies.
Reflecting on the experience, Fidele Rutayisire stated:
The summit demonstrated that around the world, many of the challenges facing men and boys are interconnected. By promoting caring masculinities, supporting men's wellbeing, and encouraging men's active participation in care work, we can create positive outcomes not only for men themselves but also for women, children, families, and entire communities. Rwanda has valuable lessons to share, and we also have much to learn from our global colleagues.
As the MenCare Changemaker Journey continues toward the next global summit in Australia in 2027, RWAMREC remains committed to contributing African perspectives, evidence, and innovation to the global movement for gender equality and caring masculinities.
Fidele Rutayisire, Gary Barker and other change makers at the Rio Summit.
Together, we can build a world where caring manhood is the new normal.
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