GAIN 🇰🇪 on Socials: 
GAIN Kenya
Programmes and Partnerships
CAtalyzing Strengthened policy aCtion for heAlthy Diets and ResiliencE (CASCADE)
CASCADE is a Dutch-funded project whose goal is to improve food security and contribute to the reduction of malnutrition of at least 5 million women of reproductive age and children under five in Benin, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. In Kenya, the programme targets to directly benefit 900,000 women of reproductive health and children under five and indirectly reach 4 million beneficiaries. CASCADE is being implemented by a consortium of GAIN and CARE International Kenya in Nakuru, Nyandarua, and Nairobi Counties.
The project runs from 2022-2026 and has five domains
(i) Influence and strengthen government bodies to improve the implementation of national nutrition-related policies;
(ii) Engage private service providers to improve implementation of nutrition-related policies by offering accessible affordable products and services;
(iii) Empower community members and government service providers to challenge existing counterproductive practices and improve essential nutrition-related services;
(iv) Strengthen women’s capacities to benefit from (improved) nutrition-related policies, enabling them to produce, acquire prepare and consume healthy diets; and
(v) Promote synergies where relevant actors mutually reinforce each other. GAIN is implementing domains one and two while CARE International is implementing domains three and four with domain five shared by the partners.
Vegetables for All
Vegetables for All is a Dutch Government-funded five-year project that aims to improve dietary diversity for 1.1 million urban and peri-urban Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) consumers by increasing consumption of vegetables in alignment with global guidelines. The project is being implemented in five counties: Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Nakuru and Mombasa. The project targets families with children aged 3-12 in the lower income group, earning between USD 118 - 355 per month.
Based on GAIN's consumption studies, the project aims to improve vegetable consumption by focusing on the following elements: vegetable safety, vegetable freshness at the point of purchase, proximity of vegetable sellers, variety and taste. These will be delivered through Fit Food Zones.
Fit Food Zones (FFZs) are the last mile/point of purchase integrated solution offered by the FitFood Brand to deliver the consumers’ expectations on freshness, safety, proximity, variety and taste. The FFZ includes other small retailers that sell vegetables to the target audience including local retail supermarkets and traditional markets. Other community services, such as schools and churches, are considered relevant stakeholders in the FFZs due to their ability to communicate brand messages and influence consumption.
The project will:
- Create partnerships with private actors and organizations who employ different models at various levels and support sourcing of vegetables from Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) compliant suppliers to increase the all-year availability of safe vegetables in target markets.
- Increase access to safe vegetables by supporting Last Mile Vendors (LMVs) i.e mama mbogas, aggregators, local supermarkets, markets and linking them to approved suppliers. The support will include branding and training.
- Strengthen existing food safety and traceability mechanisms for vegetables.
- Improve consumers' willingness to purchase vegetables and make choices based on benefit criteria through conducting promotional activities.
Create an enabling environment to support the access and demand project activities as well as address rules and incentives, and information flows across vegetable system actors (private sector, government officials, consumers).
Nutrition in ASALs Within Integrated Resilient Institutions (Nawiri)
Nutrition in ASALs Within Integrated Resilient Institutions (Nawiri), is a USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) five-year research and development program that is being implemented in the arid and semi-arid counties of Isiolo and Marsabit in Kenya. The project’s goal is to sustainably reduce persistent levels of acute malnutrition among vulnerable populations in the two counties, strengthen systems and institutions to sustain change and contribute to global learning on malnutrition. NAWIRI is led by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in a consortium with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Concern Worldwide, Village Enterprise, Tufts University, IBTCI, The Man off Group, and Caritas Isiolo, and Marsabit. GAIN is leading interventions under the Marketplace for Nutritious Food (MNF) approach to help ensure improved accessibility, affordability, and availability of nutritious food products all year round in targeted communities.
GAIN Kenya in partnership with the County Governments of Isiolo and Marsabit is supporting two SMEs to provide safe and nutritious food to malnutrition hotspots. The scope of support includes technical support (business assessment, market analysis, business plan development, product development, supply, sales, marketing strategy, and consumer demand creation) and provision of dairy and meat processing equipment. The processing equipment will enhance production and ensure the improved shelf life of the nutritious products. Besides, GAIN has mapped and trained last-mile vendors on the supply of safe and nutritious foods to the malnutrition hotspots.
To improve desirability and availability of diverse nutritious foods in the community, GAIN is conducting cooking demonstrations to empower communities in Isiolo and Marsabit Counties with practical knowledge and skills on preparation methods of other nutritious food items like fish, meat, and vegetables.
Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network (SBN)
Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network (SBN) is the world’s leading private sector focused nutrition initiative. SBN is one of the six Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) networks (Government Network, UN Network, Academia and Research Network, Civil Society, and Donor Network). SBN was established in 2014 with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) as the convener and World Food Programme (WFP) as the co-convener. SBN is a neutral platform that fosters partnerships and collaboration. SBN aims to engage and mobilize businesses at a global and national level to act and invest responsibly and innovate in responsible and sustainable actions in emerging markets to improve the consumption of safe food and to make good nutrition more aspirational, accessible, affordable and available for all people.
The network’s vision is to Contribute to reduction of malnutrition in Kenya while the Mission is to Enable businesses to supply consistent, safe and nutritious foods to consumers in Kenya.
SBN has a five-year strategy (2019- 2023) that guides the networks’ activities through the five strategic pillars namely: Financing for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME's), Technical Assistance, Workforce Nutrition, Policies and Advocacy and Market and Demand. The network draws membership from businesses across the food value chain. It currently has a membership of over 150 businesses across the country.
SBN has a robust independent secretariat that is responsible for providing overall collective strategic guidance and oversight, including identification of opportunities for gender mainstreaming. The secretariat draws membership from the Government (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development, and Kenya Bureau of Standards), business member organizations (Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Kenya National Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Kenya Association of Manufactures), the United Nation Organizations (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Sustainable Development Goals Partnership Platform and national network leadership (Chairperson, Vice chairperson and Secretary).
The major component of the SUN Business Network has been funded by Irish Aid.
Understanding how aspects of food systems are associated with nutritional, environmental, and social outcomes will help inform policy at the country and county levels. Evidence-based policymaking requires sound advice, but the data (and tools) are fragmented in many of our counties. Policymakers are often in the dark about how to manage their food systems and need to know where and how to start. GAIN is working on a food systems dashboard whose goal is to put in place a resource centre for decision-makers to find high-quality national, subnational, and city-level data and analytics on their country’s food systems. GAIN Kenya is working with Kiambu and Machakos Counties to develop a county-level dashboard to inform decisions on food and nutrition.
The dashboard is a critical tool that contextualises food systems and their linkages to diets, nutrition, and other development outcomes. This project is funded by Dutch Government and is part of the larger Vegetables for All Programme.
Resilient Markets
Resilient Markets project builds on the relationships and learnings from the previous COVID-19 emergency programme: Keeping Food Markets Working (KFMW). Traditional food markets sell significant volumes of perishable foods and remain the dominant source of both staples and nutrient-dense food for a large share of Kenya’s population. They are essential to the food and nutrition security (FNS) of urban and rural inhabitants. Presently, many of these markets are set up in a way that makes them structurally and operationally vulnerable to disruptions, such as weather and health hazards, fires, and power failures. Inefficient market structures and operations as well as governance often lead to food waste, food safety issues, and nutritious foods being inaccessible to the poorest urban residents.
GAIN with funding from the Dutch Government is currently implementing Resilient Markets Project (2022-2026) targeting five counties: Machakos, Kiambu, Nakuru, Nairobi, and Mombasa. The project goal is to facilitate resilient and sustainable food security and nutrition-enabling environment within urban informal fresh food markets.
Food and Land Use (FOLU) Coalition
FOLU is a global community of change-makers working to accelerate the transformation of food and land use systems. As a coalition, FOLU embraces a diversity of opinions and approaches, supports disruptive thinking, and forges consensus through an evidence-based approach to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Action.
FOLU in Kenya is a coalition of GAIN, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and World Resources Institute (WRI). The program is designed around 4 distinct but mutually reinforcing components: (I) Regenerative and productive agriculture systems which is led by AGRA; (ii) Sustainable and nutritious diets which is led by GAIN; (iii) Restoration and management of landscapes; and (iv) Reduction of food waste and loss both led by WRI. All the components form key pieces to building resilient and responsive food systems to climate and the well-being of communities.
Workforce Nutrition
GAIN’s Workforce Nutrition programme aims to improve the nutrition of workers and farmers in low- and middle-income countries and communities. It focuses on improving access to and demand for healthier diets using existing business structures as entry points (workplaces or supply chains).
Between 2016 and 2018, GAIN partnered with Unilever & The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), and successfully implemented the Seeds of Prosperity behaviour change communication project for tea farming families, including workers and farmers, within Unilever Tea Kenya in Kericho County. The project focused on dietary diversity and handwashing. The project reached more than 14,000 estate workers and smallholder farmers with nutrition (dietary diversity) and handwashing interventions.
During the second phase of the project (2018- 2020), GAIN with funding from the Dutch Government partnered with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to implement the “TEAFAM” project among smallholder tea farmers, workers and their households in Kericho County. The goal of the project was to improve diets among small holder tea farmers and their families. The TEAFAM project improved and ensured consumption of healthy diets among more than 30,000 smallholder tea farmers and their families directly, with an estimated indirect reach of approximately over 150,000 tea farming community members.
With additional partnership with The Ethical Tea Partnership (2020-2023) and private sector funding from global tea buyers, the third phase reached an additional 30,000 smallholder farmers, workers and their families directly, with an estimated indirect reach of over 100,000 tea farming community members. This was done through nutrition education and in-depth practical interventions such as cooking demonstrations/competitions, kitchen garden trainings and demonstrations, among other nutrition interventions
Commercialisation of Biofortified Foods (CBC)
This project is a significant evolution of GAIN’s 5 Year strategy (2018-2022) complementing and strengthening existing work on fortification and healthy diets and is introduced as a new workstream within GAIN’s existing current work to improve access to safe, healthy, and affordable nutrition and promoting its consumption among the most vulnerable populations.
In 2019, GAIN and Harvest Plus with funding from BMZ and the Dutch Government launched the Commercialisation of Biofortified Crops (CBC) Project. The main objective of the programme is to scale up the commercialisation of biofortified nutrient-dense foods to tackle hidden hunger. In Kenya, the programme targets to enable at least 2.9 million consumers to access biofortified beans whilst transiting over 168,000 bean farmers from subsistence farming to commercial bean production. CBC works with commercial value chain actors including seed producers, farmers, aggregators, and food processors, to expand the commercial reach of biofortified seed grains and food products.
Marketplace for Nutritious Foods (MNF)
The Marketplace for Nutritious Foods Project (MNF) seeks to support and catalyse business innovations that increase the affordability, accessibility, desirability, and improve the quality of nutritious foods reaching local markets. The project offered business technical assistance and/or financial grants to Small & Medium Enterprises to improve their production capacities for local market. MNF was funded in two phases; the first phase (MNF1) was funded by USAID between 2015 and 2017 while MNF2 (2018- 2021) was funded by the Dutch Government (Dutch 2.0).
Through the Marketplace for Nutritious Foods, GAIN supported more than 20 companies with grant and technical assistance such as business plan development, product development, quality assurance & control, and marketing to increase the availability and affordability of various nutritious foods. This resulted in the sales of more than 69,000 servings of nutritious foods in Kenya. In addition, more than 30 other small and medium-scale companies were capacity built-in market entry, entrepreneurship, financial management, and strategic business management through the Community of Practice multi-day training and networking events.
Keeping Food Markets Working (KFMW)
KFMW was an emergency response initiative to meet the challenges facing the food system with the overarching goal of mitigating the risk of economic collapse of food systems in order to sustain the availability and affordability of nutritious and safe foods, and contribute to lowering the burden of ill-health, particularly for the most vulnerable. The project worked with national and local government to assess, analyse and recommend viable solutions to improve market operations within the country. KFMW also aimed at keeping fresh food markets open and well governed and related SME businesses operational during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project provided emergency grants worth over USD 453,000 to more than 39 SMEs. The support covered operating expenses such as rent, salaries, marketing, transport, and raw materials. Additional support also went into the safety of personnel by procuring Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The support helped businesses improve their cashflow, re-hire staff, and resume production. Besides, GAIN provided technical assistance to 15 businesses five being female-owned/co-owned. They received tailored technical assistance on different topics including market research, digital marketing, quality assurance and quality control, business planning, and product development.
We also developed and disseminated SME COVID-19 guidance videos in English, and Swahili. The videos guided SMEs on how to reduce the chances of COVID transmission or infection by making recommended operational changes in processing, distribution, and retail. Moreover, GAIN developed an SME training manual on digital marketing to help businesses navigate and adapt to new COVID-19 realities including pivoting to e-commerce (online sales). An online learning portal was developed, and businesses took the courses online. Seventeen businesses signed up and went through the virtual digital marketing training in Kenya. The project was funded by the Dutch Government, BMZ, WHO, and Global Affairs Canada.
Evidence and Action Towards Safe, Nutritious Food (EatSafe)
EatSafe was a five-year project aimed to enable lasting improvements in the safety of nutritious foods in informal markets by focusing on consumers and vendors. It was led by GAIN in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), a research center with expertise in food safety, and Pierce Mill Entertainment and Education, a firm specializing in social impact media for positive behavior change. EatSafe implemented and tested a series of interventions to substantially improve food safety, working with vendors, and creating consumer demand for safe, nutritious foods.
EatSafe had three objectives:
(i) Consolidate and generate knowledge and evidence about consumer values and perceptions related to food safety; gender roles and norms that may influence food-related behavior among consumers, vendors and other actors; and quantified food safety risks in informal markets;
(ii) Develop and test interventions and tools to support their implementation for consumers and informal market vendors to communicate about and/or reduce food safety risks; and
(iii) Generate evidence of the impact of these interventions to engage and empower consumers and market actors to better obtain safe, nutritious foods.
Sowing Success: The Journey of High Iron Beans in Tanzania
In Tanzania, 85- 90% of the land is cultivated by smallholder farmers majority of whom face challenges in getting access to quality seeds and assured markets for their produce, thus limiting their capabilities to produce quality produce and generate steady income. Currently, 57% of pregnant women in Tanzania are anemic. Additionally, according to the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey 2015 (TDHS), 58% of children under the age of 5 years in the country were anemic.World Health Assembly Nutrition Targets
WHA Global Nutrition Stunting Target 2012-2025 : Achieve a 40% reduction in the number of children under-5 who are stunted
WHA Global Nutrition Overweight Target 2012-2025: Ensure that there is no increase in childhood overweight
GAIN Working Paper n°52 WHA Nutrition Targets
Stunting and overweight in children under five years of age remain major malnutrition challenges in the 12 countries in Africa and Asia where GAIN operates: Bangladesh, Benin, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. These forms of malnutrition appear in two of the six Global Nutrition Targets of the World Health Assembly (WHA), which are meant to be achieved by 2025. This paper evaluates progress towards these two WHA goals in these 12 countries, identifies lessons learned, and offers actionable insights for evidence-based policymaking.
While some countries have successfully reduced stunting and overweight, overall progress, particularly on stunting, remains slow. Using globally accepted methodologies, we find that of the 12 countries studied only Kenya is on track to meet the WHA stunting target by 2025, while the other 11 countries are classified as off track, having made some progress. For child overweight, nine countries, namely Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda are on track, while the remaining three are off track.
Through deep dives into selected cases, this paper emphasises the need for multi-sectoral approaches, strong political commitment, and targeted interventions. A shift towards integrated, data-driven, and context-specific solutions is crucial.
Accelerated, evidence-based action must be taken. This includes highlighting where efforts need to concentrate, guiding policy and programme adjustments, and enabling more targeted interventions to help countries achieve and surpass the reductions in child stunting and the limitations on the rates of child overweight embodied in the WHA 2025 nutrition targets.
Stunting and Overweight in Children Under Five
Factsheets Tracking Progress Toward WHA 2025 Nutrition Targets in the 12 Countries
A new ‘Whey’ to boost Pakistan’s dairy industry!
Whey to Value: Effective Whey management practices can boost dairy business and reduce environmental footprint. Livestock is a major contributor to Pakistan's agricultural economy with a steady growth driven by pricing, demand, and innovation. The market has grown by 3.89% in the fiscal year 2023–2024 , accounting for roughly 60.84% of the value contributed to agriculture and making up a hefty 14.63% of the nation's GDP during FY2024 .Nutrition Impact at Scale (NIS)
GAIN’s NIS Project supports organizations and small businesses across six countries to integrate nutrition into food systems and improve outcomes.
GAIN’s NIS Project uses a Market Systems Development approach to improve food systems and increase inclusivity and nutrition outcomes. It leverages the extensive experience GAIN has developed over the years of providing quality technical assistance, networking, knowledge sharing, building partner capacity, and providing various tools and resources to MSMEs to attach a ‘nutrition lens’ to the work of ESOs in Nigeria, Benin, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Kenya.
By engaging with ESOs, the project ultimately achieves the following outcomes:
ESOs adopt a nutrition lens in their MSME support strategies.
ESOs integrate tools, knowledge, and resources developed by GAIN to support MSMEs.
ESOs understand the impact of MSMEs on food systems and how to invest in nutrition-focused enterprises.
Alliances of local partners on MSME programming will be operational in GAIN countries.
We will achieve these outcomes by implementing the following key approaches:
Enhancing the capacity of ESOs to provide nutrition-focused technical support to MSMEs.
Facilitating ESOs to access a wide range of tools and resources.
Creating alliances by connecting ESOs to industry peers to facilitate knowledge exchange.
Providing access to a network of business & industry leaders for business-to-business mentorship.
Interactive map
Nigeria
Ikore International
Incorporated in 2018, Ikore is an International Development Organization offering innovative solutions to promote sustainable social and enterprise development across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Expected Outcomes
Support 150 MSMEs to:
- Enhance efficiency, leadership, and management skills through specialized training.
- Facilitate direct connections with buyers (e.g., supermarkets, hotels, distributors).
- Improve broader market access which will lead to a 10% and 20% sales increase in year 1 and 2.
- Prepare them for financial literacy and matchmaking, with access to debt and non-debt funding.
- Boost production of safe, nutritious foods by 30%, achieving 15% product volume growth in year 1 and 30% in year 2.
Inspire Decisions
Incorporated in 2016, Inspire Decisions Consulting Limited (IDC) is a rapidly growing development firm that supports international donors, donor-funded projects, and public and private sector organisations in achieving their development goals and performance targets.
Expected Outcomes
- 20% annual increase in the volume and sales of specific nutritious food products.
- Integrating a nutrition focus into the business models of over 100 MSMEs.
- Reach over 1,000 MSMEs, partners, and low-middle-income Nigerians through EPIC's knowledge-sharing activities.
- Increase over US$20,000 investments in funding for production capacities allocated for MSMEs to nutrition-focused business models
Kenya
Nakuru Box
Nakuru Box, founded in 2019, is an innovation hub that provides a collaborative and professional space for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and startups.
Expected Outcomes
- Increase in sales among the trained MSMEs.
- Attain a 70% increase in safe and nutritious foods in the markets served by the participants.
- Increase enrolment in the additional nutrition programs introduced.
- Support 30% of the participants expand operations into other markets.
Afriscope
Afriscope Research Limited, founded in 2015, is a leading Afrocentric institution dedicated to helping small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) thrive through specialized business advisory services.
Expected Outcomes
- Directly impact 150 MSMEs producing nutritious foods.
- De-risk 5 Lead Firms for bankability.
- Sustainable production of 621 tonnes of nutritious foods within 12 months.
- Provide grant support to 5 MSMEs to help them facilitate the inclusive contract farming (ICF) model.
Mozambique
Gapi Sociedade de Investimentos (Gapi-SI)
Gapi-SI is a Development Financial Institution (DFI) registered with the Bank of Mozambique under the Investment Company (SI) category, with over three decades of experience in development financing
Expected Outcomes
- Support 1,080 youth entrepreneurs in 12 districts (Niassa, Cabo Delgado, Nampula) through 9 business incubation cycles over 48 months.
- Train and mentor 150 agrifood SMEs to adopt sustainable, nutrition-sensitive, and food safety-compliant practices across five value chains: fruits & vegetables, dairy, fish, poultry, and fortified staple foods.
- Facilitate a 30% increase in production and sales of nutritious foods among supported SMEs.
- Enable 60 SMEs to access financing (grants, credit, equity), unlocking USD 2 million in growth capital.
- Achieve 20% sales growth across SMEs by year 2, supported by over 50 new market and distribution linkages.
- Launch a Digital Nutrition Information Channel providing AI-powered, multilingual dietary and business guidance to rural communities and SMEs.
- Ensure 60% of supported SMEs meet improved food safety standards, including HACCP and quality certifications.
- Create at least 200 new jobs, with intentional inclusion of youth and women.
- Promote knowledge exchange, post-incubation mentorship, and cross-SME learning forums to embed sustainability and continuous improvement
AfriscopeI nstituto para a Promoção das Pequenas e Médias Empresas (IPEME)
The Instituto para a Promoção das Pequenas e Médias Empresas (IPEME) is a Mozambican public institution established in 2008 under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to support the growth and development of small enterprises.
Expected Outcomes
- 80 MSMEs trained in nutrition, business strategies, and financial management.
- Improved production of safe and nutritious foods.
- MSMEs are equipped with business models that they can use to reach lower consumers with safe and nutritious foods.
Benin
Groupe REPONSE
Groupe REPONSE is a consulting firm founded in 2021. It specialises in business affairs, organisation, quality management, and food safety. Based in Benin and operating independently, it focuses on implementing progress-driven approaches to sustainably improve the quality and performance of individuals and organisations.
Expected Outcomes
- Support 35 MSMEs to improve the formulation, nutritional analysis, packaging, and profitability of their products.
- Obtain authorisation for market entry of their products, including Authorisation de Mise sur le Marché (AMM) and Certification de Qualité.
- Gain access to markets and sell their products with the support of 3 MSMEs specialised in local product distribution.
Université d'Abomey-Calavi
Founded in 1961, the Université d'Abomey-Calavi (UAC) is Benin's first and largest public university. UAC's primary missions include training executives, conducting scientific research, and contributing to the country's economic development.
Expected Outcomes
- A comprehensive toolbox to raise awareness of food and nutritional security is made available to MSMEs and ESOs.
- 30 MSMEs are trained, with 10 receiving targeted support for product development and market access.
- MSMEs overcome technical challenges and gain access to markets for nutritious and safe products.
Uganda
African Women Agri-business Network (AWAN)
AWAN is a membership organisation that focuses on advancing the socio-economic status of women through the promotion of a gender-inclusive Agri-food value chain. The organisation has 300 members, all women entrepreneurs operating in agri-food value chains.
Partnership Areas
- Capacity Building
- Access to Finance
- Access to Market
- Social Behaviour Change & Communication Campaign
- Policy and Advocacy
Expected Outcomes
- 200 women-owned MSMEs adopt nutrition-sensitive business models.
- 20% increase in production of nutritious foods by women-owned MSMEs by August 2026.
- 20% increase in sales volumes of nutritious food by women-owned MSMEs by August 2026.
- 200 women-owned MSMEs access financial and non-financial business development services in Uganda.
Community Women's Enterprise Network Uganda (CWEN)
Founded in 2014, CWEN is a non-profit organisation that provides business information, mentorship, and technical support. It leverages partnerships and linkages for rural and urban youth and women entrepreneurs in Uganda to reach greater markets, create growing revenues, and promote their businesses with a focus on value addition and skills development.
Expected Outcomes
- Train at least 85% of youth and women-led MSMEs to adopt new nutritional product knowledge, practices, and sustainable production methods in their operations.
- At least 30% of the trained Youth and Women MSMEs will acquire UNBS (Uganda National Bureau of Standards) Quality Mark certification for their nutritious food products by the end of the project.
- Increased rate of trained MSMEs reporting growth in sales and market share for their food products.
- Adoption of eco-friendly packaging materials by trained MSMEs.
Ethiopia
Coming Soon
ESO Related Videos
Uganda: Nutrition Impact at Scale (NIS) Project / Kampala Cohort
Mozambique: Programa NIS impulsiona segurança alimentar e nutrição em Moçambique - Rafael Nzucule
Nutrition Impact at Scale Profile and Publications
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Mercy Olorunfemi
Project Manager, Nutrition Impact at Scale, GAIN
Daisy Otieno
Project Coordinator, Nutrition Impact at Scale, GAIN
Diagnosing Food Systems Policy Coherence:
A Toolkit Supporting the Design of More Coherent Food Policies
Food systems policy coherence is the alignment of policies that affect the food system with the aim of achieving health, environmental, social, and economic goals, to ensure that policies designed to improve one food system outcome do not undermine others and, where possible, take advantage of synergies across policy areas to achieve better outcomes for all.
Policy coherence is fundamental for effective food systems transformation. Policy incoherence can lead to inefficiency and lower likelihood of achieving policy goals, as well as missed opportunities for leveraging synergies across policy areas where they exist. As governments worldwide increasingly recognise the interconnected nature of food systems issues, there is growing acknowledgment of the need for more coherent policies: policies designed to improve one food systems outcome must not inadvertently undermine others but instead reinforce them.
Despite this need, assessing the extent of coherence in a country’s food policy landscape is challenging. GAIN, in collaboration with AKADEMIYA2063, thus created a standardised, relatively easy-to-use tool for doing so.
This toolkit, which has been tested in multiple countries in Africa and Asia, offers a practical methodology to assess food systems policy coherence and provide actionable recommendations for enhancing it.
The Food Systems Policy Coherence Diagnostic Tool consists of two modules:
- Module 1 examines whether there are structures and mechanisms in place that would increase the likelihood of achieving policy coherence, such as whether a country has a cross-sectoral food systems policy or pathway and ongoing mechanisms for cross-sectoral coordination on food issues.
- Module 2 considers the actual conflicts and synergies between existing policies, focusing on the achievement of six key goals of food system transformation, drawn from the UN Food Systems Summit process, as shown at left.
The tool is completed by reviewing key policy documents and consulting with key informants, followed by stakeholder validation and ongoing engagement to craft locally relevant, actionable recommendations for improving policy coherence.
Accompanied by a user’s manual, scoring guidelines, and examples, the toolkit aims to provide a ready-to-use, feasible, and actionable way to understand policy coherence.
While achieving perfect coherence among all food-related policies across all outcomes is unlikely—and potentially undesirable, given the costs associated with coordination and alignment—by identifying and managing critical synergies and trade-offs, governments can better align efforts towards achieving key goals.
Diagnosing Policy Coherence for Food Systems: A New Toolkit
Policy coherence – the alignment of policies across sectors with joint goals – is fundamental for effective food systems transformation. A new Food Systems Policy Coherence Diagnostic toolkit offers a practical way to assess food systems policy coherence and provide actionable recommendations for enhancing it.
The toolkit consists of three documents: the two modules of the tool itself, the scoring guide, and the user’s manual for applying the tool.
Diagnosing Policy Coherence for Food Systems- Results from Countries
Partners
The findings, ideas, and conclusions presented in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of any of the agencies mentioned below.
Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) Project
One MMS a Day and a Healthy Baby is on the Way
Micronutrient deficiency is a major risk factor for poor pregnancy outcomes, which are the strongest predictor of malnutrition in childhood. Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) support adequate nutrient status in pregnancy and have been shown to reduce the prevalence of low birth weight, preterm birth, stillbirths, infants born small for gestational age (SGA), and 6-month infant mortality.
The project is funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), aims to establish a sustainable social business model for Multiple Micronutrient Supplements for pregnant women through pharmacy networks in Bangladesh. By 2024, the project has successfully reached 900,000 pregnant women and is targeting an additional 1.5 million pregnant women by 2028. GAIN is implementing the initiative in collaboration with SMC—social marketing company operating through over 23,000 Star Network providers across the country — alongside technical partner by Sight and Life (SAL) and the Government of Bangladesh. This public-private partnership collaborates closely to ensure evidence-based design of the programme and supports improvements in antenatal care and MMS uptake more broadly.
GAIN's MMS project currently encompasses the following synergistic work areas:
i) Quality local Production and availability:
Ensuring quality local production and distribution through SMC’s extensive franchise pharmacy network and healthcare providers, to make Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (Brand name: ‘FullCare’) accessible to every pregnant woman in Bangladesh.
ii) Demand Generation:
Use evidence-based promotional techniques, such as scientific seminars to build capacity healthcare providers and pharmacists on MMS health benefits. This is complemented by in-store product activation, evidence-based sales pitches, and merchandising to raise consumer awareness and value for MMS use.
iii) Enabling Environment to shape policy around MMS:
Through a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) influence policy, set standards, ensure high-quality local MMS production, and advocate for its inclusion in Bangladesh’s Essential Medicines List and national guidelines. Additionally, the National Technical Committee (NTC) led by the National Nutrition Services (NNS) provides technical and strategic direction for the program and advocates for MMS inclusion in various policies and guidelines.
iv) Scaling up Market-based Model:
By the Year 2028, MMS 2.0 aims to increase the sales and demand for multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS), increase adherence, and establish a sustainable, market-based model driven by increasing sales margins and cost reduction. The initiative targets annual sales exceeding 40 million tablets, aiming to reach between 300,000 and 500,000 pregnant women—representing 10% to 18% of pregnancies in Bangladesh. The project will cover 41% of the total pharmacy network, including the SMC Star Network, and will implement community-based antenatal care (ANC) services across 137 Upazilas (sub-districts), reaching over 200,000 pregnant women. Through these efforts, the cost per woman for ANC services and MMS is expected to reduce from USD 13.07 to USD 4.03 by 2028. Furthermore, MMS is expected to be fully integrated into national policies, including the National Plan of Action on Nutrition (NPAN3), the 2nd National Nutrition Program (NNP) and the Essential Medicines List (EML), ensuring long-term impact and sustainability.
Transforming Workplace Diets: Key to Reducing the Surge in Diabetes
The number of adults living with diabetes has more than doubled over the span of 30 years, rising from 7% in 1990 to more than 14% in 2022.1 An estimated 828 million adults worldwide currently live with diabetes, and if trends continue, this is projected to reach 1.3 billion by 2050.2