Famine Devastates Rwanda-Urundi (Ruzagayura Famine)

Between 1943 and 1944, Rwanda-Urundi experienced a severe famine known as the Ruzagayura Famine. It was one of the deadliest humanitarian crises in the region’s history, causing widespread suffering and drastically affecting the population. The famine was primarily triggered by a prolonged drought and crop failures, worsened by the disruption of agricultural production during World War II (1939–1945). Additionally, Belgian colonial policies had pressured local farmers to prioritize cash crops like coffee over food crops, reducing food availability. As hunger spread, thousands of Rwandans fled to neighboring Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in search of food and relief. It is estimated that around 300,000 people died, and the population declined significantly. The Ruzagayura Famine not only caused immense human suffering but also weakened confidence in the colonial administration, planting early seeds of discontent that would later influence Rwanda’s push for independence in the 1950s and 1960s. #RwandaHistory #AfricanHistory #ColonialEra #RuzagayuraFamine #RwandaUrundi #HistoricalEvents #Resilience #EastAfrica #MomentsOfLife #MoofLife_Moment #MoofLife