Solutions Panorama
A collection of 100 programs, initiatives, and strategies that were shared at the Women Deliver 2016 Conference.
A collection of 100 programs, initiatives, and strategies that were shared at the Women Deliver 2016 Conference.
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Integrating Community<br />
Health and Agribusiness<br />
to Improve Lives and<br />
Livelihoods<br />
Featuring:<br />
Sustaining Partnerships to<br />
Enhance Rural Enterprise and<br />
Agribusiness Development<br />
(SPREAD)<br />
Where:<br />
Rwanda<br />
Time Frame:<br />
2008-2011<br />
DESCRIPTION<br />
To simultaneously address social and environmental challenges,<br />
population, health, and environment (PHE) strategies link<br />
efforts to improve environment and climate with women’s<br />
health. Specifically aimed at reaching farmers, the Sustaining<br />
Partnerships to Enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness<br />
Development (SPREAD) project in Rwanda incorporated technical<br />
assistance and health education in communities that made their<br />
livelihoods from the coffee sector.<br />
The overall goal of SPREAD was to improve the health of farmers<br />
and their families by increasing access to education and services<br />
for HIV/AIDS prevention, family planning, and maternal and child<br />
health promotion via existing cooperative structures, and by<br />
strengthening connections to local healthcare providers.<br />
Rather than creating new structures, interventions, and materials,<br />
SPREAD’s health program built on existing local and national<br />
resources, such as utilizing training and educational materials<br />
from the Ministry of Health, Population Services International,<br />
and the International Planned Parenthood Federation in Rwanda;<br />
promoting PSI Rwanda’s social marketing campaigns; and linking<br />
farmers to existing community health services.<br />
IMPACT<br />
Preliminary reports indicate that the project has increased support and demand for family planning,<br />
and increased awareness of it’s link to family-wide health and economic benefits. Coffee cooperative<br />
leaders and members mentioned an increased understanding of the importance of family<br />
planning, including family health and economic benefits, and health workers reported an increased<br />
acceptance of family planning and condom use, as well as a decrease in myths and misconceptions<br />
about family planning. The program complemented existing public health efforts with a strong<br />
community-based approach that reached underserved rural communities with quality information<br />
and services in a cost-effective manner.<br />
SPREAD’s health<br />
program built on<br />
existing local<br />
and national<br />
resources.<br />
LEARN MORE<br />
“The Impact of Population, Health, and Environment Projects: A Synthesis of the Evidence,” Rachel Winnik<br />
Yavinsky, et al.<br />
“USAID Sustaining Partnerships to enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development (SPREAD) Project:<br />
Integrated Community Health Program Mid-Term Program Evaluation,” Irene Kitzantides<br />
Source: Invest in Women to Tackle Climate Change and Conserve the Environment policy brief<br />
101<br />
WOMEN DELIVER 2016 CONFERENCE: SOLUTIONS PANORAMA
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