US funds nutrition project for women, children in 8 districts

KISORO. The US Ambassador to Uganda, Ms Deborah Malac, has launched a five-year $ 23 million (about Shs87b) USAID-funded project aimed at increasing economic opportunities for the poor and improving nutrition of women and children in eight districts in Kigezi, Acholi and Karamoja sub-regions.
Ms Malac, together with Minister of State for Gender and Culture Peace Mutuuzo, launched the Integrated Community Agriculture and Nutrition (ICAN) activity last Thursday at Gatabo Primary School in Kisoro District.

Target groups
ICAN will support more than 116,000 vulnerable households, 184,000 mothers, and 230,000 adolescents over five years in Kisoro, Kanungu, Rukungiri, Lamwo, Gulu, Nwoya, Kaabong and Kotido districts.
Under the project, women will be supported to build capacity to participate in decision making at household and community levels. ICAN will also promote good nutrition practices and organise vulnerable households to start village saving schemes so that they become self-reliant.
Adolescents will be supported to go back to school and others be helped to acquire skills of their choice and be given with start-up kits. Parents will be mobilised and empowered to improve agricultural practices, encouraged to participate in schools management committees and trained on how to contribute to and support school activities.
ICAN will support children to form health clubs and talk about nutrition, sanitation and hygiene.
“We are excited to begin this partnership with your local and district level representatives and to follow your leadership on this agenda. Ugandan communities and households will be stronger, healthier and more resilient through our collaboration,” Ms Malac said.
She added that the initiative represents a US government effort, in partnership with the Ugandan government and local partners, to increase household resilience and improve people’s well-being.
Ms Mutuuzo pledged government support to the activity.
“We shall sustain this project and actually expand it to other areas after we have learnt the model. When development partners come to us, they come to give us fresh ideas; breathe life into our programmes. Our work is to learn and move things forward; get the good ideas and concepts and spread them all over,” she said.
The district chairperson, Mr Abel Bizimana, said poor feeding causes poor performance in schools and that lack of food is a source of conflicts.
“As we are addressing food issues, we are stabilising the country as underfed communities cannot contribute to national development,” Mr Bizimana said.
Caritas Kotido, Caritas Kabale, and Children of the World among other organisations will implement ICAN activities.