REACTS-IN

A child smiles while having their arm circumference measured.

Mar 14, 2025

REACTS-IN works with women and adolescent girls to address hunger and malnutrition, promoting micronutrient-dense foods in Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia.

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Program details

In 2021, the gap between the number of hungry women and hungry men worldwide was 8.4 times higher than in 2018. Tragically, the global problem of malnutrition continues to have devastating consequences, with one in five deaths among children under age five attributed to inadequate access to proper nutrition.

In Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia, the combined crises of COVID-19, conflicts and the effects of climate change are projected to drive 46.6 million more people into high levels of food insecurity.

The REACTS-IN (Realizing Gender Equality, Attitudinal Change and Transformative Systems in Nutrition) program aims to address hunger and malnutrition in these four countries, engaging women and adolescent girls to increase both access to and production of micronutrient-dense foods. This will include use of climate-smart and biofortified crops that are drought-resistant and help to prevent common illnesses.

Led by World Vision Canada and funded by the Government of Canada, REACTS-IN brings together the specialized expertise of Nutrition International, Harvest Plus and McGill University. Each of these organizations will work with World Vision Canada to further advance the rights and dignity of women and adolescent girls by increasing access to gender-equitable nutrition.

Areas of focus:
Gender Equality and Social Inclusion , Livelihoods, Nutrition

Planned lifecycle:
2023 - 2030

Target Population:
3 million people

Budget:
$44 million

Funding partner:
Global Affairs Canada

Project Design

The overall goal of REACTS-IN is to improve nutrition, nutrition-related rights and gender equality for the poorest and most marginalized people, especially women, adolescent girls and children under age five in Bangladesh, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania. The program seeks to achieve this goal through:

Improving the adoption of gender-equitable practices in nutrition; health; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) at the individual, household and community levels to address the root causes and consequences of gender inequality in the context of good nutrition and SRHR.
Strengthening the delivery of gender-equitable and responsive nutrition, health and SRHR services for the poorest and most marginalized women, adolescent girls and children to redress the systemic inequities that reduce healthcare availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality for women and adolescent girls, preventing them from realizing their right to good health and nutrition.
Improving the effectiveness of local stakeholders, in target countries and Canada, on gender-equitable local and international nutrition-specific and SRHR activities, advocacy and policy dialogue, by increasing commitment, accountability and social action by duty bearers and rights holders to realize the health and nutrition rights of women and adolescent girls.

To all the hardworking moms

We see you, Mom. We recognize how hard you work in raising your families and supporting your communities.

It's our privilege to be able to partner with you and other mothers like Ajmira, a community health facilitator in Bangladesh. Follow Ajmira and see how hard she works to support her family. Through the REACTS-IN program, in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, we aim to further advance the rights and dignity of women and adolescent girls by increasing access to gender-equitable nutrition. We know that when mothers are empowered and when families have enough nutritious food to thrive, communities will thrive.

Partners

The REACTS-IN program forms a robust alliance of international and local partners. Together, we have vast experience and strong capacity to achieve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in the four target countries. Each of the four technical partners has distinct implementation responsibilities aligned with their areas of expertise.

Nutrition International (NI) is a global organization that collaborates with governments, donors and implementers to conduct cutting-edge nutrition research, shape essential policies and integrate nutrition into broader development programs. World Vision Canada and NI previously partnered on the ENRICH program. Now in REACTS-IN, NI will aid in the development of a comprehensive national anemia prevention and treatment plan, including weekly iron and folic acid supplementation (WIFAS) for adolescent girls through schools. NI will also provide educational materials to enhance awareness among adolescents about nutrition, anemia and menstrual hygiene management.
HarvestPlus fights hunger by scaling up staple food crops that are grown to be rich in essential vitamins and minerals. HarvestPlus will build on the partnerships forged during the implementation of ENRICH to deepen and expand the gains in REACTS-IN. They will provide technical assistance to the program, supporting seed production, supply, distribution and delivery, nutrition education and consumer acceptance activities.
McGill University’s School of Human Nutrition (SHN) will be the academic partner for REACTS-IN. McGill previously implemented the GAC-funded Nutrition Links grant in Ghana, in which World Vision Canada was a partner. McGill’s SHN research expertise is broad in base, ranging from foundational science to clinical, community and international fields. McGill SHN will conduct the REACTS-IN baseline, midline and endline evaluations as well as gender assessment analysis and formative research in collaboration with World Vision Canada and partners.

World Vision Canada has a track record of delivering innovative, effective, community-driven maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) programs, and impacting malnutrition through multi-country, multi-year programs, through Global Affairs Canada (GAC) grants and private funding. REACTS-IN will be implemented through World Vision’s locally incorporated and registered country offices, leveraging their long-term presence and existing investments, technical capacity, community base and infrastructure as well as their partnerships with relevant government ministries. World Vision’s longstanding presence in all four countries has resulted in deep contextual knowledge and strong community partnerships that have fostered productive working relationships across community, sub-national and national levels.

Featured story

REACTS-IN funding from GAC

World Vision partners with international and local organizations in a new multi-million-dollar, seven-year project aiming to improve nutrition and gender equality.