Extending a successful partnership with the World Bank in Rwanda

Rwanda has made significant progress in reducing poverty and improving nutrition, most notably meeting its Sustainable Development Goal target for wasting already.

However, the stunting rate remains too high with one in three (33%) children under five suffering.

Persistent challenges with the health and nutritional status of pregnant women contribute to the intergenerational poverty trap. The Government of Rwanda has identified this and has a bold ambition to eliminate stunting – seeing a holistic approach that combines nutrition, early childhood development and supporting socio-economic growth as the answer.

Since 2018, The Power of Nutrition has worked in partnership with the World Bank and government to advocate for this multisectoral approach. The partnership’s initial programme accelerated national progress to help the government meet its stunting goals. It worked through an integrated package of interventions including conditional cash transfers for pregnant women, supporting children in the first 1,000 days of their life, supporting early childhood development centres and expanding coverage of health and nutrition services.

The extended programme builds and scales-up these successes; the government is now continuing the cash transfers so the partnership focuses on early childhood development and health and nutrition interventions.  

It's being implemented in 13 districts with the highest stunting rates and most under-served populations in Rwanda. We are seeking further partnerships to scale-up the high-impact programme nationwide; for more information contact Shelley Pigott.

Read about the first phase to this programme here.