Uganda

"Addressing anemia often requires an integrated approach to effectively combat it," remarked Dr. Acheng Jane Ruth, the Director General of Health Services during her opening remarks at the Multisectoral Anemia Stakeholders' Meeting in Kampala. The meeting, held in March 2015, brought together stakeholders from government, private sector, civil society, academia, and development partners to share progress made by the National Anemia Working Group over the past year.

SPRING and the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) organized a multisectoral training workshop from February 9-11 at Bonita Training Center in Wakiso District, Uganda. The purpose of the workshop was to strengthen the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP) implementers’ nutrition budget planning and analysis capacity. At the end of the three-day training workshop, representatives from the key government ministries of Trade, Agriculture, Health, Education, Finance, and Gender called for increased nutrition funding at the national, district, and community levels.

SPRING/Uganda recently launched an innovative campaign called “Great Mothers, Healthy Children” in the Kisoro and Ntungamo districts of Southwest Uganda. The campaign contains video testimonials designed to influence the nutrition practices of mothers, fathers, and grandmothers of children ages 0-23 months, focusing on exclusive and continued breastfeeding, feeding a sick child, feeding a recovering child, and seeking medical care.

Translating academic learning into practice is a challenge. So SPRING/Uganda created a “Nutrition Trainee” (internship) program that combines class and field work, helping students develop the knowledge and skills needed to produce meaningful results. For the first year of this program, two students at Kyambogo University—Asasira Adera and Carol Noel Agabiirwe—worked with SPRING on an activity focused on social and behavior change communication (SBCC) strategies to improve nutrition.