News

In April 2017, SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic and the Kyrgyz tele-radio company, Tumar, organized seven free concerts in seven townships—Jalalabad, Tash-Kumyr, Kara-Kul, Kochkor-Ata, Mailuu-Suu, Shamaldy-Sai, and Naryn—to raise awareness about nutrition and ...

SPRING/Uganda exhibited and presented at the inaugural International Symposium on Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Kampala. The theme for this year’s symposium was “the contribution of community health workers towards attainment of Sustainable Deve...

Anemia remains a severe public health problem in Ghana, with 65.7% of children under five and 42.4% of women in reproductive age (WRA) suffering from anemia, according to the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey report (GDHS). The Northern Region...

SPRING/Uganda and Feed the Future’s Commodity Production and Marketing (CPM) activity trained representatives from 22 large- and medium-scale maize millers in the country on good manufacturing practices (GMPs) and how to fortify their maize flour.Dur...

From March 29-April 16, 2017, SPRING/Senegal is participating in the 18th Annual International Fair for Agricultural and Animal Resources (FIARA) to promote a multi-sectoral approach to improving nutrition, as well as products from partner producer n...

Women's economic empowerment directly improves the family’s nutritional status. Village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) are community-managed groups aimed at empowering community members economically by providing them with a designated safe pla...

SPRING/Uganda partnered with another USAID-funded project, Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Southwest (RHITES/SW), to strengthen efforts to reduce stunting and anemia in the southwestern region of Uganda.In Uganda, anemia affects mo...

In February 2017, SPRING/Guinea and Farm Radio International (FRI) conducted a radio assessment in support of the USAID-funded Strengthening Market-Led Agriculture Research, Technology, and Education (SMARTE) program. The SPRING/FRI assessment identi...

In 2011, vitamin A deficiency was recognized as a significant problem that affects about seven in ten children under the age of five in Ghana and contributes to one in three deaths of children 6-59 months. Consumption of vitamin A-rich foods is encou...

From March 27-30, 2017, over 300 of the world’s leading health experts from nearly 40 countries will convene in Johannesburg, South Africa for the Institutionalizing Community Health Conference (ICHC) 2017. USAID’s multi-sectoral nutrition project, S...

This closing workshop was an opportunity to take stock of SPRING/Bangladesh's accomplishments and lessons learned and to disseminate findings from the project's research. The honorable Line Director of the National Nutrition Services and Director of ...

To effectively address anemia, countries must develop a context-specific understanding of their anemia situation. SPRING developed “Understanding Anemia: Guidance for Conducting a Landscape Analysis” to provide step-by-step support for gathering and ...

SPRING/Ghana conducted a training of trainers (ToT) workshop for district-level trainers from seven districts—East Gonja, Tolon, Central Gonja, Tatale, Mion, Bawku West, and Kumbungu— in Ghana’s Northern Region to implement the District Assessment To...

SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic provided support and technical assistance to the national deworming working group to update the national clinical protocol on deworming and to update strategies and communications materials for future deworming campaigns and he...

March 8th, International Women’s Day, is a day to celebrate women and the successes they achieve every day around the world, including their contributions to nutrition and agriculture. As the global concept of work continues to change, it’s crucial t...

At the Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services (INGENAES) Global Symposium in Lusaka, Zambia, SPRING project officer Sarah Hogan and agriculture advisor Victor Pinga shared SPRING’s work on monitoring nutrition-sensiti...

SPRING/Bangladesh was honored to receive two high officials from the Government of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to visit its work in Khulna Division. Dr. A.B.M. Muzharul Islam, Line Director of Bangladesh’s National Nutrition Se...

Groundnuts are a commonly grown crop in Northern Ghana and are regularly consumed in the local diet. Their high-protein content makes them a good part of a diverse diet. SPRING is working with groundnut farmers to help them grow, harvest, and store g...

SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic, funded by USAID to address issues of chronic malnutrition and anemia among women and children of Kyrgyz Republic, hosted an event on Friday, February 10, 2017 entitled “Strengthening Linkages between Agriculture and Nutrition....

Micronutrient powder (MNP) distribution is a promising intervention for reducing anemia in young children, but successful implementation requires a better understanding of effective programming. In Uganda, the Ministry of Health is interested in prov...

SPRING/Senegal promotes nutrition-sensitive poultry rearing and egg consumption as part of its strategy to improve the nutritional status of pregnant and lactating women and children under the age of two. On the 10th and 11th of January 2017, represe...

Nathan Park, Deputy Mission Director of USAID/Kyrgyz Republic, visited SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic on February 8, 2017 in Kok-Jangak rayon, Jalalabad oblast. Mr. Park was visiting USAID programs in the southern region, including a visit to SPRING activity...

On February 2, 2017, SPRING/Sierra Leone led a nutrition-sensitive agriculture orientation workshop for managerial staff from consortium organizations of the newly awarded Sierra Leone Entrepreneurial Agriculture for Improved Nutrition (EAIN) activit...

On January 18, 2017, SPRING/Senegal facilitated a one-day workshop on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the region of Kaolack. The workshop was organized as part of SPRING’s strategy to improve the nutritional status of pregnant and lactatin...

As part of a strategy to effectively reach and support busy urban communities, the SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic project has launched a Facebook page, with plans to reach people in-country through other platforms. This page will be used as a platform to lea...

In November 2016, SPRING facilitated a two-day workshop to help the Community Health and Improved Nutrition (CHAIN) project partners define collaboration goals and expectations and to develop an integrated workplan. The CHAIN project is a collection ...

In partnership with the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU), SPRING/Uganda supported representatives from the National Working Group on Food Fortification as well as small- and medium-scale maize millers to travel to Tanzania for a learning ex...

In Uganda, before fortified foods are approved to enter the market, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) tests them for quality. As more manufacturers get interested in food fortification, the number of fortified samples to test also increa...

In December 2016, U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat, USAID Mission Director Janina Jaruzelski, and other senior USAID delegates visited a Farmer Nutrition School (FNS) in Baccharpara village in Khulna division. The delegation observed a n...

On November 7, 2016, SPRING/Sierra Leone and Helen Keller International (HKI) hosted a learning event in Lumley Beach, Sierra Leone, to share findings from three assessments conducted in Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone. The three assessments were a ...

Community radio programming using SPRING’s multi-channel approach was at the center of a recent community day in Thiarre Commune in the village of Thiokomaty, Senegal. In the morning, the SPRING/Senegal team and staff from local partner organization ...

On November 5th and 6th, SPRING/Uganda exhibited at the Baby and Kids Expo – East Africa. Many parents and expectant mothers flocked to SPRING’s booth to learn about the benefits of consuming fortified foods. Fortification involves boosting certain f...

In November 2016, representatives from the Government of Nigeria, USAID, international NGOs, and civil society organizations gathered for a final meeting to celebrate the achievements and lessons learned through the SPRING project. Active in Nigeria ...

From November 1 – 2, 2016, SPRING/Ghana hosted visitors from USAID/Ghana and USAID/DC for a visit to Karaga District in the Northern Region and Bawku West District in the Upper East Region. Rebecca Fertziger, deputy director of the USAID/Ghana Health...

This October, SPRING participated in the 2016 Micronutrient Forum Global Conference, a space for global researchers and practitioners to collaborate on promoting scale-up and sustainability of evidence-based programs to improve micronutrient adequacy...

Celebrated every year on October 15, Global Handwashing Day is dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of handwashing with soap as an easy, effective, and affordable way to improve nutrition, prevent disease, and save...

Starting on 15 September 2016, SPRING/Kyrgyz Republic hosted a two-day Media and Messenger Training in Bishkek for 32 members of national media in the Kyrgyz Republic. The event focused on malnutrition, which affects women and children throughout the...

SPRING’s District Assessment Tool for Anemia (DATA) increases awareness of anemia and helps districts take action on this prevalent problem. Increasingly, health officials are seeing DATA as a valuable district-level decision making tool.Earlier in t...

CORE Group’s Global Health Practitioner Conference is a place where health advocates come together to collaborate, discuss ideas, and build partnerships to improve life-saving programs. This fall’s themes included adolescent health and nutrition.As p...

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing food and nutrition security. This year’s World Food Day theme focuses on climate change and the need for agriculture to evolve to address a growing global population, protect the environment, and...

SPRING Director Carolyn Hart and Director of Food Security and Nutrition Heather Danton Discuss Connections Between Food Self-Sufficiency and Local Food Systems at Annual USDA/USAID ConferenceSPRING joined a diverse gathering of nutrition and food se...

The “Breastfeeding is a Source of Child Health” event took place in Tash Kumyr on Thursday September 22, 2016 with about 110 people in attendance. The function began with remarks from the Health Sector Specialist from the Mayor’s office, the Director...

The “Healthy Nutrition - Healthy Youth” event brought together 102 competitors from the surrounding colleges of Jalal Abad, who participated in a 5 km distance run, rope pulling, and other competitions. In addition to the competitions testing strengt...

On August 18, 2016, SPRING/Bangladesh participated in a roundtable discussion entitled “Protecting and Promoting Breastfeeding: Challenges and Opportunities to Implement the Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS) Act 2013.” The event was organized by three US...

In August 2016, SPRING’s Nancy Adero (Technical Advisor of Anemia and Micronutrients) and Danya Sarkar (Nutrition Specialist) conducted district-level workshops to support Uganda’s National Anemia Working Group (NAWG) in piloting the District Assessm...

Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) started WBW in 1992 with the vision of a world where breastfeeding is the cultural norm.This year’s theme—“Breastfeeding: Key to Sustainable Development”—was a reminder to the commitment Uganda made towards co...

World Breastfeeding Week 2016 was celebrated in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria with a press briefing event that brought together representatives from different media outfits, including Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and Vision FM, M...

SPRING/Bangladesh assisted government health clinics in Khulna and Barisal divisions to ensure the successful observance of the National Vitamin A Plus Campaign for children under five on July 16, 2016. Community Nutrition Champions (CNCs), who are g...

In July, the annual Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) conference, “Ensuring Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All,” was held in Kumasi, Ghana. SPRING/Ghana took advantage of this in country opportunity...

SPRING/Bangladesh observed World Breastfeeding Week from August 1-7, 2016 by organizing over 100 rallies, quiz competitions, discussions, and several dramas and music performances in all 40 upazilas across Khulna and Barisal divisions. More than 100e...