The directive, published on November 26, 2025, follows assessments showing persistent gaps in promoting and monitoring hygiene practices at individual, household, workplace and community levels.
Personal hygiene requirements
Under the new rules, all Rwandans are required to bathe the entire body at least once a day; brush their teeth at least twice daily using a toothbrush and toothpaste; maintain clean hair and short, clean nails; and wash hands routinely, before preparing or eating food, before breastfeeding or feeding a child, after using the toilet, after cleaning a child, after handling waste, or anytime hands are visibly dirty. Individuals must also wear clean clothing and footwear, and sleep in clean bedding.
Household hygiene standards
Every household must have a latrine built to a minimum depth of six meters where possible, properly constructed, covered and kept clean. A handwashing facility must be installed near the latrine. Homes are also required to have an enclosed bathroom, cemented or tiled where possible, and a clothesline for drying laundry.
Residents must ensure animals do not sleep indoors and must properly manage wastewater from the home, as well as rainwater, through designated drainage channels. It is prohibited to dump waste in drainage systems.
Households must also ensure safe storage and treatment of drinking water; clear bushes and stagnant water around the compound; segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste; and maintain a clean kitchen and dish-drying area. Houses and their surroundings are to be swept or mopped daily.
Compounds should be kept orderly and, where possible, include vegetable gardens, fruit trees, ornamental plants or flowers. Water storage tanks for clean water and rainwater must be cleaned at least once every six months. In urban areas, waste must be disposed of in covered bins or designated areas until collected by licensed waste-management companies.
Hygiene in cemeteries, roads and places of worship
The guidelines also set minimum standards for cemeteries. Burial sites must be located away from rivers, springs and groundwater sources to prevent contamination. Cemeteries must have waste-management systems, clean access paths and sanitation workers to clean after funeral ceremonies.
Additionally, wilted flowers must be removed within two days, and a handwashing facility with clean water and soap must be placed at the entrance.
Cemeteries must also have separate public toilets for men and women, equipped with toilet paper, waste bins and handwashing areas.
On road hygiene, the directive requires roads to be swept regularly and kept free of waste or unauthorised structures, with waste bins placed at least every 100 meters. Public urination and defecation on roads is prohibited. Inter-district roads must have public toilets, and all roads must have adequate rainwater drainage. Trucks transporting goods are barred from dropping waste onto roadways.
Places of worship, including churches, parishes and mosques, must have separate toilets for men, women and persons with disabilities, with handwashing facilities and covered waste bins. They must maintain contracts with waste-collection companies and ensure proper management of rainwater and wastewater. Facilities conducting water baptisms must use clean, designated water.
Requirements for rehabilitation centres and prisons
Rehabilitation centres and prisons are required to maintain adequate supplies of clean water; separate toilets for men, women and persons with disabilities; and secure, well-maintained sanitation facilities. They must have functioning rainwater harvesting and wastewater systems; clean water storage tanks for use during shortages; clean, well-equipped kitchens; appropriate laundry and drying facilities; and adequate bathing areas.
Facilities must also implement regular pest-control programs, ensure constant cleaning of premises, provide mosquito nets, bedsheets and mattresses for every inmate, and maintain waste-collection contracts with licensed service providers.
According to the Ministry of Health, the guidelines form part of a broader strategy to establish a permanent hygiene and sanitation inspection framework from national to local levels. The initiative aims to enforce compliance, strengthen accountability and ensure that individuals, households and institutions contribute to improving hygiene standards across the country.
IGIHE
