Defining a “Quality Care Group”: Findings from USAID Advancing Nutrition Participatory Research in Zimbabwe and Malawi
- Jun 23
- 1 min read
The Care Group Model (CGM) serves as a community-based platform for delivering essential health and nutrition programming. Care groups typically include 10-15 community-based volunteers who convene regularly to discuss health and nutrition topics; these individuals are then responsible for supporting household level behavior change in their communities by educating other community members on important health and nutrition practices (TOPS 2016). To-date, this strategy has been implemented in 43 countries, with some countries, including Malawi and Zimbabwe, adopting the model as an official strategy.
As programs and studies generate evidence on quality standards, learning from group participants themselves is critical to ensure high quality design and implementation in local contexts. To contribute to this learning, USAID Advancing Nutrition partnered with Amalima Loko, a USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)-funded Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Zimbabwe, and Akule ndi Thanzi, a USAID Malawi bilateral nutrition project in Malawi. This webinar, hosted on 19 November 2023 in collaboration with the Care Group Interest Group, highlighted the process and key findings of research conducted with care groups in Zimbabwe and Malawi. Speakers also shared an overview of the local solutions co-developed with care group participants, which partners can use and adapt with communities.
Speakers:
Riley Auer (MSPH), SBC Project Officer, USAID Advancing Nutrition;
Dr. Kondwani Chidziwisano, Research Fellow, WASHTED Centre, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS);
Pamela Ncube Murakwani, Health & Nutrition Director, Amalima Loko
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