Three Rwandan civil society organizations have signed direct grants with USAID/Rwanda.

By signing the grants, the CSOs - Caritas Rwanda, African Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE Rwanda), and FXB Rwanda - become the first local organizations working in Rwanda's health sector to be directly funded by USAID.

The awards were signed by each organization's leadership and USAID/Rwanda Mission Director, Peter Malnak on Thursday. Also in attendance were the U.S. Embassy's Chargé d'affaires, Jessica Lapenn and Larry Garber, USAID's visiting Deputy Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau of Policy, Planning, and Learning, both of whom gave congratulatory remarks.

According to a statement released yesterday, all three organizations had previous funding relationships with USAID/Rwanda through sub-grants with USAID's international NGO partners, and following their graduation from an organizational capacity-building program were eligible to apply independently for funding.

"Together, the three-year grants total $15 million and will fund the organizations to continue their work in nutrition and comprehensive support (economic, educational, psychosocial, health care, shelter and care) of vulnerable children, youth, and their families," the statement reads.

Working directly with civil society organizations is one of the priorities of USAID's reform initiative, known as USAID Forward.

The initiative seeks to increase Agency effectiveness by changing the way it partners with other organizations, manages funds, measures results, and embraces innovation in its worldwide programs.

Through increasing its partnerships with local organizations in Rwanda, USAID aims to improve the well-being of Rwandans through increasing the sustainability and country-ownership of the country's development outcomes.