First Annual Report: World Relief Rwanda Tangiraneza 'Start Well' Innovation CSP

The program was launched in October 2011 and was supported by a Cooperative Agreement Award from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program's main goal was to reduce malnutrition and improve health outcomes among children under the age of five. The program's first year was marked by several key accomplishments. The CSP team, led by Carmen Umutoni, the CSP Director, and overseen by Melene Kabadege, the WR Regional Technical Advisor, successfully completed the first year of the program. The team worked closely with the District MOH staff, who had existing relationships with World Relief Rwanda, to ensure a smooth start-up. The WRR Kigali office supported the CSP in setting up the Nyamagabe District Project office, hiring, orienting, and training staff, and establishing reporting and financial systems. The CSP team also made significant progress in developing and conducting baseline assessments. The team conducted two separate 30-cluster KPC surveys, one for the intervention area in Kaduha hospital zone and one for the control area in Kigeme hospital zone. The team also completed a literature review for the OR study, qualitative surveys, and the DIP. Facilitating factors included the CSP team's extensive field experience, WR HO technical unit staff expertise, and nutrition expertise shared by Judy Mclean and her University of British Columbia research assistants. The CSP officially began fieldwork with training for WR and MOH staff during the orientation meeting on Care Groups, the first intervention, on June 5 to 11, 2012. The Nutrition Weeks Curriculum was developed by WRR and WR Home Office staff, with technical input from Judy Mclean, Judiann McNulty, Melene Kabadege, and Olga Wollinka. The Nutrition Weeks pilot began in September, and Judy Mclean was involved in the project. The program's progress was facilitated by several factors, including the existing relationships between World Relief Rwanda and the District MOH staff, the expertise of the WR HO technical unit staff, and the nutrition expertise shared by Judy Mclean and her research assistants. The program's success was also due to the hard work and dedication of the CSP team, led by Carmen Umutoni. The program's main accomplishments during the first year included the completion of the first year of the program, the development and conduct of baseline assessments, and the official beginning of fieldwork with training for WR and MOH staff. The program's progress was marked by several key milestones, including the approval of the Operations Research project by the Rwanda Ethics Committee and the completion of the Nutrition Weeks Curriculum. The program's geographic focus was on Nyamagabe District, Rwanda, and the program's context was the existing relationships between World Relief Rwanda and the District MOH staff. The program's timeframes were from October 2011 to September 2015, and the program's recommendations were not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, the program's progress and accomplishments suggest that the program was successful in improving maternal and child health outcomes in Nyamagabe District, Rwanda.