Esther’s Aid Combating Childhood Malnutrition

Kigali, Rwanda – In a bold effort to address childhood malnutrition in Rwanda, Esther’s Aid is set to launch a groundbreaking pilot program aimed at educating and training young mothers to improve their cooking skills and prepare nutritious meals.
The initiative, titled “Nourishing Futures, One Meal at a Time,” seeks to equip village women with the knowledge and resources necessary to foster healthy children and families.
Objective:
- Make nutrition education accessible and actionable, particularly for illiterate or semi-literate women.
- Create lasting impact on the health and nutrition of children in the community, while empowering village women as change agents.
- Ensure that women understand the importance of proper nutrition for their children and families.
- Train community leaders to act as Nutrition Ambassadors, spreading knowledge to neighboring villages.
- Empower the community to sustain the program independently in the future.
To achieve this outcome, a planning strategy is key. This is implemented by –
- Engaging with the village community to build awareness around malnutrition issues
- Building villagers capacity to plan nutritional meals through training
- Support women in acquiring local resources to provide quality meals efficiently
- Monitor the impact on children and support the community to improve effectiveness
- Achieve sustainable and lasting results with community buy-in and ownership
Why this Program?
Independent research confirms the consequences of malnutrition should continue to be a significant concern for policy makers in Rwanda, where 38% or 661,200 children under 5 years suffer from chronic malnutrition (stunting or low height-for-age) and 37% or 643,800 suffer from anemia.
Esther’s Aid’s ultimate goal is to help reduce the high level of malnutrition in Rwanda through educating those who cook the meals.