Kampala, Uganda – The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has reaffirmed its commitment to combating malnutrition and promoting healthier diets in Uganda through actionable partnerships with government agencies, civil society, and the private sector.
The development came about during a media briefing held Monday, January 13, 2025, at Kabira Country Club in Kampala where key stakeholders highlighted initiatives aimed at addressing Uganda’s triple burden of malnutrition; undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity.
GAIN Executive Director, Mr Lawrence Haddad (who attended the just concluded Extraordinary Summit on the Post Malabo Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in Kampala emphasized the critical role of nutrition in human development and reiterated GAIN’s commitment to ensure this is achievable in Uganda come 2027.
“Good nutrition is the difference between life and death for nearly half of the world’s under-threes. Malnutrition impacts immune function, brain development, education, and future earning potential,” Haddad said. He emphasized that improving diets is at the core of addressing malnutrition to create strong alliances “to tackle this complex problem.”
According to the 2022 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, malnutrition remains a significant challenge in Uganda, with at least one in four children under five stunted, while only 7% of children aged 6–23 months meet the minimum acceptable diet. This, Haddad said, are some of the key issues that need to be addressed, not just for survival but for thriving, and called for collective action to combat the crisis.
The Assistant Commissioner for Nutrition at the Ministry of Health, Ms Samalie Namukose commended GAIN’s support for Uganda’s nutrition goals since 2007 and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to launching a national school feeding program as part of the initiatives to improve nutrition and healthier diets in children.
Ms Namukose highlighted achievements under the National Food Fortification Programme, including regulations on fortifying staple foods such as wheat, oil, maize, and salt. “The recent UDHS survey that was conducted shows that almost all the households are consuming iodised salt, and I would like to appreciate GAIN for the contribution working together with us to make that issues of salt iodisation addressed,” she said.
“The other area that we have worked, of course, with GAIN is capacity building of the private sectors. This is an area where we’ve had very wonderful cooperation with the private sector to ensure that they fortify the foods that are consumed by the population, the common man,” she added.
On advancing food fortification for healthier diets, Ms Nakayenga Ketra-Kintu, the Principal Officer for Quality Assurance and Standardization at the Ministry of Trade also thanked GAIN for supporting Uganda’s industrial food fortification efforts and making sure that quality, safe and nutritious food moves from places of surplus to places of scarcity in its integrity without any loss of quality and nutrition composition.
“I want to thank GAIN for coming on board to ensure that industrial food fortification where the micronutrient deficiencies are addressed through the addition of vitamin A in vegetable oil, through the addition of iron, zinc, folic, acephalic and the B vitamins in the two value chains and that is the processed maize and the processed wheat,” Ms Nakayenga said.
“We’ve achieved 100% fortification for wheat and salt, and 85% for vegetable oil. However, maize fortification remains a challenge due to the informality of small-scale enterprises,” she explained.
Ms Nakayenga also revealed that the Fortify Management Information System (Fortify MIS), established in 2017 with GAIN’s support, is now in place to track real-time data on fortified foods, which is helpful in quality assessment and standardization procedures. “This system enhances policy-making by providing accurate data, ensuring quality and safety throughout the food supply chain,” she said.
With the Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network Strategy, co-convened with the World Food Programme, Nakayenga expressed optimism to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030 as the strategy fosters collaboration between food operators and government agencies to improve nutrition outcomes.
Mr Enock Musinguzi, GAIN Uganda Country Director, reiterated GAIN’s commitment to Uganda’s nutrition goals which remains a key pillar in the vision 2027 at hand. “We aim to improve access to healthier diets for millions, enhance food security, and transform food systems by 2027,” he said, rallying stakeholders to sustain partnerships that deliver scalable solutions for healthier diets, especially for the most vulnerable.
Established in Uganda in 2007, GAIN has for the last 17 years implemented numerous projects to improve food systems and promote healthier diets. These include the Vegetables for All initiative, which increases vegetable consumption among low-income families, and the Workforce Nutrition Program, which supports healthy eating in workplaces. Additionally, the CASCADE Project, a partnership with Care International and other stakeholders, advocates for better food security and nutrition policies.
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