Niang M. auteur aut IRD Moha M. auteur aut IRD Ridde Valéry auteur aut IRD Gautier L. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Objective This article is a case study of a capacity-building project to reduce malnutrition, implemented by a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Niger. It aims to generate a set of lessons learned on the processes of sustaining health interventions in vulnerable contexts. Methods Using a theoretical framework on sustainability, we carried out a thematic analysis on semi-structured individual interviews (n = 124) collected, between 2016 and 2017, during the evaluative research of the NGO project. Results The data analysis revealed several risks and opportunities to sustain the project activities, classified according to the characteristics of a routine identified in the theoretical framework: memory, routines, values, and rules. Our findings show a low level of sustainability of the project. Several activities were stopped at the end of the project and others may not continue in the long term. Indeed, local realities-poverty and political fragility-combined with the 'short-term' and vertical logics of the project's implementation have hindered the project activities' sustainability. Conclusion In vulnerable environments, sustainability should not simply be seen as an outcome to be achieved at the end of the project. The sustainability process must be activated by key stakeholders, focusing not only on the resources stabilizing but also on the resilience of the structures and systems in which interventions are embedded. specialized Malnutrition Sustainability Public health Niger NIGER 056 054 113 4 636-646 2022 0008-4263 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010084677 10.17269/s41997-022-00631-x 0008-4263 [F B010084677] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010084677 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2022-06/010084677.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2022-06-03 2025-02-24 fdi:010084677 fre