This is a multi-country activity evaluation, focused on?evaluating the regional project "Transforming Local Food Systems Through Scaled and Improved Home-Grown?School Feeding in Eastern Africa" (THRIVE), Phase II.
This decentralized evaluation provides a situational analysis of the Mastercard Foundation-funded project ¡°Strengthening food systems to promote increased value chain employment opportunities for youth in Rwanda 2022-2027¡±.
The mid-term and endline evaluations of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rwanda¡¯s USDA McGovern-Dole Sustainable School Feeding Programme (FY24) - a five-year, USD 28 million initiative supporting Rwanda¡¯s transition to a fully government-owned National School Feeding Programme by 2029 - will be carried out in 2027 and 2029 respectively.
This decentralized evaluation was commissioned by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rwanda Country Office and covers the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) McGovern-Dole Grant for Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSF) implemented in Rwanda from 2020 to 2025 (FY20 project). The 2025 endline is the final exercise in a three-part evaluation series, following the midterm evaluation (2023) and a baseline study (2022).
This decentralized evaluation was commissioned by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rwanda country office and covers the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) McGovern-Dole Grant for the Sustainable School Feeding Programme implemented in Rwanda from 2025 to 2029.
This decentralized developmental evaluation was commissioned by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ School Meals and Social Protection Service (PPGS) to support learning within the ¡°Catalysing Good Food Through School Feeding¡± programmes funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.
This summary of evaluation evidence focuses on local and regional procurement (LRP) components under the USDA McGovern-Dole school meals programs in five countries, specifically Cambodia, Kenya, Laos, Nepal and Rwanda.
Malnutrition remains a widespread issue among children in the region, with high rates of wasting, stunting and micronutrient deficiencies. While underweight micronutrient deficiencies are significant problems for women of reproductive age in many parts of East Africa, overweight is also increasing rapidly.
Between 2020 and 2023, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) Rwanda Country Office implemented the Sustainable Market Alliance and Asset Creation for Resilient Communities and Gender Transformation (SMART) programme. The programme aimed to contribute to community resilience through a package of support, including a stronger soil and water management asset base, livelihood strengthening and diversification, farmer organization capacity strengthening and access to inputs and markets, and social cohesion and gender transformation activities.
Annual Country Reports (ACR) are a key accountability document produced by country offices on a yearly basis which inform donors how their funds were used during the reporting year. Their purpose is to tell Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s performance story in an accurate, transparent and evidence-based manner by assessing the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of our operations in our pursuit towards zero hunger.
The terms of reference (TOR) aim to inform stakeholders about the evaluation, clarify expectations and requirements and guide the evaluation team in its work during the various phases of the evaluation.
The protection landscape in the Eastern African region is complex and characterized by a multitude of risks from various factors including conflict, political instability, humanitarian crises, and natural disasters. To mitigate these risks, Â鶹ÊÓƵ is embedding the centrality of protection and AAP into its operations.
School feeding programmes are quickly gaining popularity in the region among governments as a critical investment in human capital, local economies, health, and nutrition, and are firmly leading the advancement of this agenda, despite the significant challenge of limited fiscal capacity. Â鶹ÊÓƵ continues to play an important role in school feeding and is well-positioned to support governments and contribute to the multiple benefits it offers.
Gender inequalities and lack of women empowerment are critical barriers to achieving food security. Across the countries in the Eastern Africa Region, women continue to face adverse inequalities, ranging from social and cultural norms.
In Eastern Africa, Â鶹ÊÓƵ implemented integrated programmes action across several sectors including increasing access to adequate, nutritious, and affordable food through functioning food systems; early and anticipatory protection from climate shocks; food and nutrition support during crises; basic social services to build human capital; livelihood support; and community infrastructure and ecosystems restoration.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Services (UNHAS) played a crucial role in enabling humanitarian response in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia Kenya and South Sudan. UNHAS provided timely, reliable, cost-effective air transport service to 375 humanitarian partners. This was particularly critical in fragile contexts where access was limited due to conflict or climatic disasters, and no suitable commercial aviation options were available.
Food safety and quality are critical pillars of Â鶹ÊÓƵ¡¯s mission to alleviate hunger and food insecurity worldwide. Â鶹ÊÓƵ is committed to providing safe, nutritious, and high-quality food to those in need, recognizing the health implications of consuming substandard or unsafe food.
The humanitarian situation in the Eastern Africa region is characterized by shocks, fragility, and conflict in many countries, which continued to highlight the importance of social protection as a way of meeting essential needs, responding to crisis, and building resilience to shocks. Â鶹ÊÓƵ enhanced partnerships with governments, donors, and international financial institutions (IFIs) to mitigate the impacts of this situation through supporting the scale-up of shock responses, refugee inclusion, systems strengthening and enhancement of policy and institutional frameworks.
