About 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. Two 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:
- Increase access to and consumption of healthy diets among household members in six programme countries, particularly women of reproductive age and children.
- 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.
CASCADE domains
4,5 years, 5 domains
The 4.5-year program funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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
5 domains explained
Domain 1— Strengthened policy implementation: Government bodies’ nutrition-related policy actions are better coordinated and more effectively implemented by strengthened capacity and increased accountability and responsiveness of government actors.
Domain 2 — Supportive Private Service Providers: Private service providers enhance the effective implementation of nutrition-related policy actions through their products and services.
Domain 3 — Strengthened Community Structures: Community structures are empowered to become drivers of change that positively support the improved implementation of nutrition-related policies and practices and advocate for accountability where required.
Domain 4 — Empowered women: Empowered women have increased capacity and knowledge to benefit from (improved) nutrition-related policies, enabling them to produce, acquire, prepare and consume healthy diets.
Domain 5 — Strengthened coordination: Strengthened coordination and linkages among food system actors and processes.
CASCADE’s approach
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.
Contact CASCADE Coordinator
Wish to contact CASCADE’s Coordinator Sarah Harris? Please fill out the form below and she will get in touch with you as soon as possible.