GAIN Briefing Paper n°17: Strengthening Traditional Food Markets for Inclusive Food Systems in Kenya

- 08/07/2026

Traditional food markets are central to Kenya’s food systems, providing fresh and affordable food to consumers as well as jobs, income, and livelihoods to farmers and traders. However, despite Kenya’s strong food policy environment, governance of traditional food markets is often weakly integrated and under-prioritised. This prevents unlocking the markets’ full potential for food security, nutrition, and inclusive growth. This briefing paper examines governance in three traditional food markets in Bungoma and Busia County, Western Kenya, using a mixed-methods approach combining key informant interviews, vendor surveys, direct market observations, participatory workshops, and a review of relevant policy and governance documents to assess how governance arrangements shape market performance.

GAIN Kenya to Showcase Leadership in Financing Nutrition-Sensitive Food Systems at FINAS 2026

30 June 2026- 02 July 2026Kenya

From 30 June to 2 July 2026, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutri9on (GAIN) Kenya will join policymakers, investors, development partners, financial ins9tu9ons, researchers, private sector leaders, and civil society at the Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainably (FINAS) 2026 Summit at the KenyaCa Interna9onal Conven9on Centre (KICC), Nairobi.

DELIVER Nigeria Project Update

- 24/06/2025

The DELIVER Nigeria project is a three-year initiative designed to enhance livelihoods and food systems resilience among smallholder vegetable farmers. Funded by the Accelerating Resilient Food Systems in Africa (ARFSA), a programme of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency commissioned by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it builds on the achievements of the SDGP project (2019–2024). DELIVER Nigeria applies a three-pronged approach focused on supply, demand, and access to finance. Since its launch in July 2024, implementation has progressed steadily through partner mobilization, field entry, and the roll-out of key interventions.

Workforce Nutrition in Textile Factories: Progress Toward Industry Buy-In

In Ethiopia, the growing Textile industry is powered by the youth, typically aged 18 to 35 years, more than 85 percent of whom are women. Yet, behind the machines lies a hidden challenge: malnutrition. Evidence reveals that poor diet on the job is costing countries up to 20% in lost productivity due to malnutrition1 and this is further impacted by food inflation.

Workforce Nutrition Company Onboarding 2026

26 May 2026- 19 June 2026Uganda

GAIN Uganda is implementing a Workplace Nutrition initiative aimed at improving employees’ access to nutritious diets and enhancing dietary diversity. The program includes: Nutrition awareness sessions, Menu assessments and improvements and Continuous engagement with participating workplaces.

Kenya Takes a Giant Leap Toward Food Systems-Based Dietary Guidelines

What if the food on your plate could be guided by science, culture, sustainability, and affordability — all at once? That is precisely what Kenya is building. From 12–15 May 2026, a multi-disciplinary team of nutrition scientists, policy experts, academics, and development partners gathered at Oleken Hotel, Nakuru, for the most technically intensive session yet in the development of Kenya's first-ever Food Systems-Based Dietary Guidelines (FSBDGs). FOLU Kenya, operating through GAIN Kenya, is proud to be a convening and coordinating partner in this transformative process.

I-CAN Policy Brief: Building Systems For Climate–Nutrition Integration In Uganda

- 18/05/2026

Uganda increasingly recognises the importance of addressing the intersection of climate change and nutrition, with emerging efforts demonstrating that integrated action is both possible and already underway. However, climate shocks, including droughts, floods, and pest outbreaks, continue to disrupt food production, dietary diversity, water access, and disease patterns, ultimately undermining nutrition outcomes. A review of 39 national policies and consultations with 22 stakeholders across government, development partners, civil society, and the private sector reveal that climate and nutrition remain largely siloed within Uganda’s policy architecture, and that implementation is constrained by gaps between policy intent and operational reality. However, a subset of policies demonstrates that effective climate–nutrition integration is already possible, particularly where clear pathways, costed commitments, and system-level investments are in place. Stakeholder interviews indicate that, although policy frameworks increasingly acknowledge the climate-nutrition nexus, integrated action is most often realised at the program level, primarily through donor-funded projects and civil society initiatives, rather than systematically embedded within government systems. These findings highlight a critical opportunity to strengthen policy coherence, institutional coordination, financing alignment, and cross-sector accountability to accelerate climate-nutrition integration efforts in Uganda.

How Cleaner Salt Production in Tanga Is Improving Nutrition Outcomes

When you ask families in Tanga what salt means to them, the answer is often simple: “It’s something we cook with every day.” Yet few realise that the quality of that salt; its purity, safety, and level of iodization; directly affects the health of households, particularly children and pregnant women. For years, salt producers in Tongoni and Masiwani worked with unlined pans, contaminated crystals, and unpredictable yields. Salt was often sold locally without consistent iodization, leaving families vulnerable to iodine deficiency, which contributes to goiter, impaired development, and weakened immunity. Today, a different story is unfolding. Improvements in infrastructure, training, and coordination, supported by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), are transforming production from low-quality, non-iodized salt to safer, cleaner, and more reliable salt that strengthens household nutrition.

Adopting a Food Systems Approach to Reducing Hunger and Malnutrition: Lessons From Benin, DR Congo, and Madagascar

- 24/04/2026

Adopting food-related policies, governance approaches, and action plans that cut across sectors is key to food systems transformation – but how to do so is not always clear. This case study examines how policy stakeholders in three African countries were able to adopt food systems thinking, adapt their governance approaches to enable cross-sectoral food systems approaches, and start to move towards action.