Nutrition is vital for social and economic improvements in Uganda. Hence, critical actions are needed to strengthen policy and financing to improve nutrition.
Nearly 100 people attended SPRING/Uganda’s close out and legacy event to celebrate the project’s five-year journey to achieve results in nutrition. Participants included representatives from the USAID/Uganda Mission, officials from different ministries of the government of Uganda, development partners, and stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.
When Sanatu Fuseini received a loan of 200 Ghanaian cedis ($50) from her village savings and loan association (VSLA), she was beside herself with joy. Sanatu, a mother of four, had always dreamed of starting a small trading business in her rural community of Gundu in Northern Ghana’s Tolon District, but she lacked the cash to fulfill her dream. Little did she know that a mother-to-mother support group, established to share good nutrition practices for children under age two, would lead to the break she needed.
Pomeroy-Stevens, Amanda, Alexis D’Agostino, Madhukar B. Shrestha, and Abel Muzoora. "A Multisector Approach to Monitoring Planned and Actual Nutrition Spending." Field Exchange, no. 55 (July 2017): 49-52. August 18, 2017. Accessed August 21, 2017. http://www.ennonline.net/fex/55.
USAID’s SPRING project has developed an approach that countries can use to bridge the gap between primary data collection and developing more routine systems. In this article, challenges faced in two countries are discussed, as well as adjustments made to overcome these challenges and how this information can strengthen efforts to create routine monitoring systems.
From July 7-11, 2017, over 1,500 health economists and public health practitioners gathered in Boston to discuss new ideas for the economics of global health systems. Topics discussed included latest methods and debates on cost effectiveness analysis, healthcare financing, economic evaluation, and implications for health policy.
This brief is part a series of "interim" technical briefs, culminating in a final two-year study report in 2016.
Pomeroy-Stevens, Amanda, Heather Viland, and Sascha Lamstein. "Recommendations for Multi-Sector Nutrition Planning: Cross-Context Lessons from Nepal and Uganda." Field Exchange, no. 54 (February 2017): 90-94. March 2017. Accessed August 21, 2017. http://www.ennonline.net/fex/54/multisectornutritionplanningnepalanduganda
SPRING Pathways to Better Nutrition (PBN) case studies documented successes and challenges in implementing NNAPs in Nepal and Uganda at national and sub-national level. A longitudinal, mixed-methods approach was applied across multiple levels of governance, gathering qualitative and budgetary data over two years.
A national nutrition action plan or strategy is a clear signal of a country’s political commitment to nutrition. But SPRING has found that increased commitment does not always translate into better support for nutrition activities. Through our project’s Pathways to Better Nutrition Case Studies in Uganda and Nepal, we developed 10 recommendations for how countries can translate their multi-sectoral nutrition policies into increased nutrition action.
Webb, Patrick, Shibani Ghosh, Robin Shrestha, Grace Namirembe, Sabi Gurung, Diplav Sapkota, Winnie Fay Bell, et al. 2016. “Measuring Nutrition Governance.” Food and Nutrition Bulletin 37 (4_suppl): S170–82. doi:10.1177/0379572116674856.
Background: Global commitments to nutrition have supported calls for better evidence to support effective investments at national level. However, too little attention has so far been paid to the role of governance in achieving impacts.
Objective: This article explores the ways by which the commitment and capabilities of policy implementers affect collaborative efforts for achieving nutrition goals.
Agaba, Edgar, Amanda Pomeroy-Stevens, Shibani Ghosh, and Jeffrey K. Griffiths. 2016. “Assessing Progress in Implementing Uganda’s Nutrition Action Plan.” Food and Nutrition Bulletin 37 (4_suppl): S142–50. doi:10.1177/0379572116674553.
The 2011 Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP) established 2016 maternal and child nutrition targets. However, there is a lack of routine district-level data collection to assess UNAP implementation. The NIL collected serial household-level survey data (n = 3600) in 6 districts, including 2 UNAP implementation districts, in 2012 and 2014. Questionnaires focused on food security, nutrition, and health, among others, and included specific indicators relevant to UNAP’s targets.