Integration of the Care Group Model within Ministry of Health Structures

This learning study was designed to trace the development of the Budikadidi project care group model, assess its integration within government structures and document the project’s handover process.

Between 2017 and 2023, a CRS-led consortium implemented the USAID-funded Budikadidi Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in the DRC’s Kasaï Oriental Province to sustainably improve household nutrition, food security, and economic well-being. The project promoted nutrition behaviors via the care group model, a classic evidence-based intervention often implemented by NGOs, which has been adopted by the Congolese Ministry of Health. While the care group model was fundamental to Budikadidi programming, the team questioned whether sufficient government appropriation was achieved to sustain the model post-project. In 2022, a learning study was launched to explore this question and document the intentional handover process with government stakeholders.