According to the 2010 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey, the country has made significant progress in the fight against malnutrition. Stunting, which prevents children from growing or developing properly, has gone from 51% in 2005 to 44% in 2010 among children under five.

However, despite considerable efforts, malnutrition still remains a challenge and significantly contributes to infant and child mortality. Stunting is a cohort issue and its long-term consequences are irreversible. Children who are affected by stunting are less able to perform well in school later in life, and are more likely to be economically less productive as adults .

Intervention to minimize the impact of malnutrition needs to start from conception and continue until the child is two years old hence the recent emphasis to focus on the critical first 1000 days of a child’s life.

CRS and our local partners in Rwanda aim to help reduce stunting rates of children under than 5 from 44% in the year 2010 to 28% by 2017. The program focuses on strengthening district-level capacity to plan, implement and monitor nutrition interventions, and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable households to improve the quality and diversity diets. Beneficiaries participate in regular health monitoring visits, agricultural trainings (also known as Farmer Field School), and SILC meetings.

This program is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.