Learning from Scaling-up a Gender-Transformative Couples' Intervention to Reduce IPV and Promote Gender Equality in Rwanda

Abstract for Preformed Panel Presentation from the 2022 International SBCC Summit in Morocco:

"Institutionalizing gender-transformative approaches by integrating them into governments' policies and structure has the potential to amplify changes in attitudes, behaviors and norms at a large scale in sustainable, cost-effective ways. However, despite growing attention to the importance of scaling up projects, evidence around how to do so while maintaining effectiveness, quality and fidelity is still scarce. To address this gap, Equimundo (formerly known as Promundo-US) will share lessons learned supporting the institutionalization of Program P (called Bandebereho in Rwanda), a gender-transformative parent training to engage men as positive, nonviolent and equitable fathers and couples implemented in over 20 countries and scaled up to different extents in a few countries. In Rwanda, Equimundo and the Rwanda Men's Resource Centre are collaborating with the Ministry of Health through a strong and long-term partnership to scale this approach via the health system by engaging community health workers. Lessons learned from this scaling up effort provide important insights into the factors that support successful institutionalization and will help understand if one program model can effectively be tailored to and scaled up in different contexts. Results from this experience can help organizations and policy makers understand better how to bring change through scaling gender-transformative prevention programming via government institutions and structures."