Fighting Malnutrition with Community Nutrition: Our Holistic Approach

Malnutrition isn’t just about hunger—it’s about hidden hunger, imbalanced diets, and poor food practices that lead to stunted growth, learning difficulties, and lifelong health complications. In Rwanda, malnutrition continues to threaten maternal and child health, especially in vulnerable communities.

At Health Promotion Organization Rwanda (HPO), we believe in tackling malnutrition from the ground up. Our Maternal and Child Nutrition Program goes beyond food—it empowers communities with knowledge, tools, and sustainable practices that foster long-term health.

Understanding the Double Burden

Rwanda faces a “double burden” of malnutrition:

Undernutrition, including stunting and wasting
Overnutrition, leading to childhood obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs)

Addressing this requires both nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions. That’s where our community-based model comes in.

How We’re Creating Impact

1. Community Nutrition Education

We conduct nutrition education sessions on:

Building a balanced plate using locally available food
Food safety and hygiene
Meal frequency and diversity for infants and young children

These sessions often target caregivers, pregnant women, school cooks, and youth.

2. Participatory Cooking Demonstrations

Our cooking demos aren’t lectures—they’re interactive experiences. We work with community members to:

Prepare traditional meals using nutritious ingredients
Introduce fortified and complementary feeding options
Promote healthy snacking and proper food portions

"I used to boil everything. Now I steam vegetables and use less oil—and my children have more energy," says Clarisse, a mother in Gasabo District.

3. Kitchen Gardens and Home-Grown Solutions

HPO helps families and schools establish kitchen gardens where they:

Grow vegetables and herbs for daily meals
Improve access to micronutrients
Reduce food costs
Involve children in learning about healthy eating from the soil up

We also distribute fruit tree seedlings and train communities on how to care for them.

4. School Feeding Support

Through partnerships with local schools, we enhance school meal programs by:

Advising on menu diversity
Incorporating fruits and vegetables from school gardens
Training cooks on nutritious meal preparation

5. Training of Trainers (ToT)

We empower local champions—including youth clubs, cooperatives, and community health workers—with ToT workshops. These multipliers extend our nutrition messages across regions.

Building a Culture of Nutrition

Our goal isn’t just to reduce malnutrition—it’s to instill a culture where healthy eating becomes the norm. We use storytelling, visuals, and real-life demos to connect with people on their terms, in their language, and through their lived experiences.

Want to Partner or Volunteer?

We welcome collaborations with:

Nutritionists and public health professionals
School administrators and teachers
Youth and women-led associations
Agricultural extension agents

📩 Contact Adelphine Ineza at adelphineineza56@gmail.com or call +250786894059 to start a kitchen garden campaign or nutrition workshop in your community.

References:

Rwanda Ministry of Health: National Nutrition Policy 2023
WHO: Essential Nutrition Actions (2020)
HPO Nutrition Program Reports (2023–2025)