Rwanda: Logistics expertise drives WFP’s response to hunger
WFP’s experience in delivering food assistance to remote regions of the world is helping in the fight against malnutrition and stunting in Rwanda
By JohnPaul Sesonga
A healthy diet for her baby is everything for Fatma, a mother from Sakara village in Eastern Rwanda. Despite the country having a 33 percent rate of chronic malnutrition and stunting (impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition) in children under five years of age, health workers and residents in this village have noticed improvements in recent years.
In a bid to address malnutrition and stunting rates, the Government of Rwanda began producing and distributing fortified cereals in 2017 known locally as Shisha-Kibondo — which means healthy baby.
Made from locally sourced maize and soya beans and packed with vitamins and minerals, the cereals are provided to malnourished young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
“I began eating Shisha-Kibondo early in my pregnancy and also fed it to my son Ishimwe when he reached six months of age,” says Fatma, “I really encourage other mothers to use the cereal — so their babies don’t become malnourished.”
Data released in 2018 from the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis Report (CFSVA), a survey analyzing food security and nutrition in Rwanda, confirmed that the consumption of the fortified cereals were playing an important ole in reducing stunting rates in children from 38 percent in 2017 to 33 percent in 2018.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is also playing an crucial role in reducing malnutrition rates in Rwanda by assisting the national government to transport the fortified cereals from factories to pharmacies countrywide.
“WFP’s expertise in delivering food assistance to remote regions of the world makes us an ideal partner for humanitarian response and we are proud to partner with the Government in reducing malnutrition levels in Rwanda,” says Sahir Aslam, a Supply Chain Officer with WFP in Rwanda.
In 2020 alone, more than 130,000 young children (aged 6–23 months) and 60,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women across Rwanda have benefited from consumption of the fortified cereals.
WFP’s contribution to reducing malnutrition in Rwanda is funded by the Swiss Development Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), has so far enabled the world’s largest humanitarian agency to deliver over 8,000 metric tons of fortified cereals to almost 500 district pharmacies using a combination of its own trucks and commercial trucks where necessary.
Earlier this year, WFP also trained health center personnel, store managers and community health workers on best storage practices for the cereals in addition to hosting educational sessions on how best to prepare and consume the fortified foods.
“This training will enable me to effectively coordinate community health workers in my sector and guide them on the preparation of the cereals for consumption by malnourished families,” says Chantal Musabyimana, coordinator of community health workers in Murama sector in Eastern Rwanda.
