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Village Savings and Loans Association /Mother to Mother Support Groups(VSLA/MTMSGs) in a cooking demonstration of the preparation of soya meal outdoors.
Photo Credit: Clement Boateng/JSI
Focus Area(s):
Capacity Strengthening
Nutrition and Health Systems
Social and Behavior Change and Gender

Behaviors are central to the immediate and underlying causes of malnutrition. Social and behavior change (SBC) plays an important role in achieving and sustaining improved nutrition outcomes. SBC requires a range of activities that promote, enable, model optimal behaviors. In Ghana, USAID Advancing Nutrition found that working with local leaders and within existing community structures was key to shifting social norms and integrating promotion into a range of activities related to agriculture, nutrition, responsive care, sanitation, environmental health and food safety.

USAID Advancing Nutrition provided technical and logistical support to district multi-sectoral nutrition teams to present and discuss a movie on stunting prevention, organize cooking demonstrations, and conduct integrated community meetings. During cooking demonstrations, community members learned how to use locally available foods to prepare nutritious meals for their households. This approach engaged traditional community leaders and heads of households across 460 communities in 17 districts, actively promoting agriculture, nutrition, responsive care, sanitation, and hygiene best practices.

We also collaborated with 340 village savings and loan associations (VSLA) and mother-to-mother support groups (MTMSGs) in 17 districts across northern Ghana. We trained VSLA and MTMSG members to conduct cooking demonstrations and facilitated discussions around educational videos to promote nutrition behaviors to prevent anemia and malnutrition during their regular monthly meetings. Through these efforts, USAID Advancing nutrition—

  • engaged more than 10,000 VSLA and MTMSG members, primarily pregnant and lactating women, and mothers of young children, in actively promoting key agriculture, nutrition, responsive care, sanitation, and hygiene practices
  • reached over 60,000 community members with messages about optimal behaviors
  • supported VSLA and MTMSG members in saving over three million Ghana cedis, so that it can be invested in family nutrition and health care.

Featured Resources

 
A selection of resources published by USAID Advancing Nutrition

Strengthening Village Savings and Loans Associations and Mother-to-Mother Support Groups to Improve Household Nutrition and Resilience: Key results and lessons from USAID Advancing Nutrition’s work in Northern Ghana

Brief Ghana English
USAID Advancing Nutrition worked with the Government of Ghana to strengthen the capacity of village savings and loans associations (VSLAs) and mother-to-mother support groups (MTMSGs) in 17 districts in northern Ghana to integrate VSLA (village savings and loans associations) with nutrition activ

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Nutrition Training and Supply Needs of 55 Districts in Northern Ghana: A Rapid Assessment

Technical Report Ghana English
USAID Advancing Nutrition conducted a rapid assessment in Ghana between March and April 2023 to determine gaps in training and supplies needed for the provision of maternal and child health and nutrition (MCHN) services in the 55 districts in the Northern, North East, Upper East, Upper West, and

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Integrating Social Norms in Nutrition Programs Ready-to-Use Menu Options for Program Planners

Guideline/Guidance Global English
This menu highlights key components of Focusing on Social Norms: A Practical Guide for Nutrition Programmers to Improve Women’s and Children’s Diets.

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Focusing on Social Norms: A Practical Guide for Nutrition Programmers to Improve Women’s and Children’s Diets

Guideline/Guidance Global English
Social norms influence the meaning and value of food as well as roles and expectations. Updated in 2023 after user testing, this guide is for nutrition program planners and implementers planning norm-responsive activities within nutrition-sensitive or nutrition-specific programming.

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See more resources in the USAID Nutrition Resource Hub ›

News

Learning Event Commemorates Three Years of Advancing Nutrition in Ghana

USAID Advancing Nutrition hosted a learning event in Bolgatanga, marking the end of three years of project implementation in northern Ghana focused on improving multi-sectoral nutrition planning and…
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