In May 2013, SPRING/Uganda conducted emotion-based formative research investigating child feeding practices during and after illness and perceptions about malnutrition in the first two years after birth. Using projective techniques, the team sought to determine what emotion-based "hot buttons" will move parents of children 0-2 years of age to take nutrition-specific actions when their child is sick.
SPRING/Uganda has worked closely with the Nutrition Secretariat in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) overseeing the implementation of the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP) to scale up nutrition.
At the facility level, SPRING/Uganda works to strengthen nutrition assessment, counseling, and support (NACS) services as a complete package that is fully integrated as part of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and/or antiretroviral therapy (ART) services in HIV clinics. SPRING/Uganda also supports the implementation of Ministry of Health guidance to expand NACS beyond HIV clinics to be fully integrated as part of routine health services, and cover everyone, irrespective of their HIV status.
At the national level, SPRING/Uganda supports the Government of Uganda to coordinate the implementation of industrial fortification efforts. SPRING/Uganda has revitalized the National Working Group on Food Fortification (NWGFF) and supports NWGFF meetings and activities. SPRING/Uganda also supports trainings to build capacity of the staff from various departments in quality control for food fortification, monitoring, and evaluation, all in support of effective implementation of Uganda’s mandatory fortification regulation that came into effect 1 July 2013.
In March 2013, SPRING/Uganda began supporting Uganda’s implementation of the Partnership for HIV-Free Survival (PHFS). PHFS is an initiative conceived by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to accelerate the adoption and implementation of the 2010 WHO guidelines for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV.1 Uganda is one of six countries piloting the PHFS program.