USAID Mission [http://rwanda.usaid.gov/] Rwandan Ministry of Health [www.moh.gov.rw/] Rwanda Treatment and Research AIDS Center [www.tracrwanda.org.rw/]

Rwanda

Rwanda is one of the 15 focus countries under PEPFAR. FANTA worked with USAID/Rwanda, the Rwandan Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Rwanda Treatment and Research AIDS Center (TRAC) to strengthen the focus on nutrition throughout the health system and to support the integration of nutrition into HIV policy, service delivery and training curricula.

National Nutrition Policy: To ensure that Rwanda can support the nutrition-related objectives outlined in the Millennium Development Goals and the Rwanda Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, FANTA provided support to revisions to Rwanda's National Nutrition Policy. Specific revisions to the policy were guided by the results of two PROFILES workshops that used interactive computer-based models to show the consequences of poor nutrition on the Rwandan population. The National Nutrition Policy is being reviewed by the MOH.

National Guidelines for Nutritional Care and Support for People Living with HIV (PLHIV): FANTA assisted the Government of Rwanda in developing the National Guidelines for Nutritional Care and Support for PLHIV which defines the actions that service providers should take to provide quality nutrition care and support to PLHIV. The guidelines supplement national policies on prevention and treatment, as well as strengthen and standardize care and support for PLHIV across organizations, programs and services. Over 2,000 copies of the guidelines were produced and distributed with support from USAID/Rwanda. FANTA worked with TRAC and UNICEF on initial plans for an assessment of the availability, use and understanding of the guidelines.

Nutrition and HIV Training: The Rwanda HIV/AIDS and Nutrition Training Manual is a comprehensive source of information on nutrition and HIV, and provides instructors with presentations, practical exercises, case studies and handout materials that can be used for planning and facilitating courses and lectures. The Training Manual is adapted from the regional Nutrition and HIV/AIDS: A Training Manual, which was produced with support from USAID/East Africa (USAID/EA). The Rwanda Training Manual is currently being translated into French.

Nutrition and HIV Poster: FANTA, in collaboration with the MOH and TRAC, and with support from USAID/Rwanda, developed and distributed an HIV and Nutrition poster that focuses on 10 messages related to healthy eating and lifestyles and proper care for PLHIV. The poster was produced in French and Kinyarwanda and was distributed to 100 health facility and 755 PLHIV association sites, as well as to over a dozen cooperating agencies and PVO partners in Rwanda.

Nutrition and HIV Counseling Cards: In collaboration with the MOH and TRAC and with support from USAID/Rwanda, FANTA developed HIV and Nutrition counseling cards for use by government health facilities, PLHIV associations, PVOs and community volunteers in Rwanda. The counseling cards were adapted from regional counseling cards developed with support from USAID/EA. Over 1,500 copies of the counseling cards were distributed.

USAID Country Profile
[http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/countries/rwanda/]

PEPFAR Country Profile
[http://www.pepfar.gov/countries/rwanda/index.htm]

UNICEF Country Profile
[http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/rwanda_1717.html]

WFP Country Profile
[http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp? region=2§ion=9&sub_section=2&country=646]

Demographic and Health Surveys Country Survey
[http://www.measuredhs.com/countries/ country_main.cfm?ctry_id=35]

FAO Country Food Security Statistics
[http://www.fao.org/faostat/foodsecurity/ Countries/EN/Rwanda_e.pdf]

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