Officials from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and government tossed to the successful closure of its Gikuriro program in Rwanda.
The close-out event, held at Kigali Convention Center on Wednesday evening brought together Dr. Anita Asiimwe, the Coordinator of the National Early Child Development Program, USAID Rwanda Mission Director Leslie Marbury, district representatives, development partners, civil society organization (CSO) representatives, and staff from Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
The USAID-funded Gikuriro was a US$24 million 5-year project (2015-2020), which was implemented by CRS in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), and six Rwandan civil-society organizations (CSOs): CARITAS, AEE, FXB, DUHAMIC, YWCA, and FVA.
The goal of Gikuriro was to improve outcomes in nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) through capacity building and the implementation of the Government of Rwanda’s Community-Based Food and Nutrition Program and Community-Based Environmental Health Promotion Program (CBEHPP).
The Gikuriro project also aimed to improve the nutritional status of women of reproductive age and children under five years of age, focusing on the first 1,000-days, from conception to a child’s second birthday.
The program supported 50,000 families to prevent malnutrition, improve agricultural productivity, promote savings, improve social protection, and increase household food consumption.
A shout-out to @USAIDRwanda
Gikuriro program! Thanking them for the three years of excellent collaboration and learnings shared. As they close out today, Hinga Weze commits to continue along the great path that they have set to improve nutrition and #WASH. Well done #Gikuriro! pic.twitter.com/Vi1S6NItHF— USAID Hinga Weze Rwanda (@USAIDHingaWeze) October 28, 2020
Gikuriro further improved hygiene and sanitation practices for 570,000 households and increased access to clean water for over 345,000 Rwandans in eight districts.
“USAID is committed to assisting the Government of Rwanda in its campaign to prevent malnutrition among all children. I thank the Government of Rwanda, CRS, SNV, and CSO implementing partners for making Gikuriro a success,” said USAID’s Mission Director, Leslie Marbury during the event.
