Making progress towards food security: evidence from an intervention in three rural districts of Rwanda

OBJECTIVE: Determining interventions to address food insecurity and poverty, as well as setting targets to be achieved in a specific time period have been a persistent challenge for development practitioners and decision makers. The present study aimed to assess the changes in food access and consumption at the household level after one-year implementation of an integrated food security intervention in three rural districts of Rwanda. DESIGN: A before-and-after intervention study comparing Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) scores and household Food Consumption Scores (FCS) at baseline and after one year of programme implementation. SETTING: Three rural districts of Rwanda (Kayonza, Kirehe and Burera) where the Partners In Health Food Security and Livelihoods Program (FSLP) has been implemented since July 2013. SUBJECTS: All 600 households enrolled in the FSLP were included in the study. RESULTS: There were significant improvements (P<0·001) in HFIAS and FCS. The median decrease in HFIAS was 8 units (interquartile range (IQR) −13·0, −3·0) and the median increase for FCS was 4·5 units (IQR −6·0, 18·0). Severe food insecurity decreased from 78 % to 49 %, while acceptable food consumption improved from 48 % to 64 %. The change in HFIAS was significantly higher (P=0·019) for the poorest households. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that an integrated programme, implemented in a setting of extreme poverty, was associated with considerable improvements towards household food security. Other government and non-government organizations’ projects should consider a similar holistic approach when designing structural interventions to address food insecurity and extreme poverty.