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CASCADE 

CASCADE, short for ‘CAtalyzing Strengthened policy aCtion for heAlthy Diets and resiliencE,’ is a program implemented by a consortium led by CARE and GAIN, organisations with long-standing experience in addressing malnutrition at the community and household level and advocating for greater government engagement for sustainable food systems.   

The program leverages CARE’s and GAIN’s experience and expertise in system strengthening and food systems transformation to achieve its two main objectives:   

  1. Increase access to and consumption of healthy diets among household members in six programme countries, particularly women of reproductive age and children,   
  1. Increase resilience to economic- and climate-change-related shocks and stresses of household members in the six programme countries, particularly women of reproductive age and children.   

The 4.5-year program funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is implemented between 2022 and 2025 through collaborative efforts with government bodies, private service providers, and communities around five domains:  

Domain 1 – Strengthened policy implementation  

Domain 2 – Supportive Private Service Providers 

Domain 3 – Strengthened Community Structures  

Domain 4 – Women’s Empowerment / Gender Transformation  

Domain 5 – Strengthened coordination among food system actors and processes 

CASCADE employs multiple advocacy strategies, from sub-national to national and global levels, to strengthen policy implementation of nutrition-related policies. It draws on CARE’s and GAIN’s approaches, focusing on social accountability, good governance, health system strengthening, multisectoral coordination, resource mobilisation, private sector engagement and climate-resilient agricultural practices. It also strengthens community structures through community mobilisation and civil society engagement for collective pressure for changes in the food system. It collaborates with the SUN networks across six countries to address malnutrition. Gender, social norm transformation, and behaviour change are cross-cutting strategies, both an essential goal and a means to magnify its impact.