This policy brief presents actionable strategies for sustaining respectful maternity care (RMC) in health facilities across Rwanda. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative findings from a multi-method study conducted in five hospitals in the Eastern Province, the brief identifies five key strategies to institutionalize RMC: strengthening women-centered care, maintaining an enabling childbirth environment, upholding community trust, promoting professional conduct, and reinforcing supportive leadership. The proposed interventions align with WHO guidelines and national priorities, and offer a logical framework for policymakers, health leaders, and implementers to integrate RMC into Rwanda’s broader health system. The brief underscores the need for multi-level engagement and system-wide action to reduce mistreatment and improve maternal and newborn health outcomes.

Informal caregivers (ICs) are at the heart of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as they supply valuable labour to the health system. However, they face significant challenges, which can be worsened by the circumstances under which they support patients on admission. This policy brief reported findings from a study on the lived experiences of ICs who travel to an urban tertiary health facility to support sick relatives. It identified why ICs stay in the hospital while supporting hospitalisation care, the consequences of their challenges, and outlined what must be done to alleviate their plight in Nigerian health facilities.