Integrating Community-Engaged Learning, Capacity Development, & Farm2Fork Training for Improved Maternal & Child Health in Busoga Region, Uganda

Country

Uganda

Year

2024

Principal Investigator: Joel J. Komakech

Led by Dr. Joel Komakech, this project brought together nutritional education, agriculture focused on the farm-to-fork concept, public health research, and community engagement to address maternal and child nutrition challenges in Uganda’s Busoga region. Through a school- and community-based initiative, the team implemented pilot integrated programs comprising safe water access, micro-greenhouse farming, and nutrition education. Additionally, the team also conducted a cross-sectional study involving over 450 mother-child pairs focused on exploring the prevalence and determinants of early childhood anemia and undernutrition in the Busoga Region, Uganda.

Researcher pricking finger. — Dr. Joel Komakech collects a drop of blood with a microcuvette after performing a finger prick with a lancet for hemoglobin analysis in the anemia cross-sectional study in Busoga region of Uganda

The project team, alongside Dr. Jessica Graves and local collaborators, worked closely with schools, women’s farmer groups, and institutions such as Kyambogo University to assess needs and deliver training in areas including animal husbandry, crop production, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene). Their work aligned with Uganda’s new competency-based curriculum, emphasizing practical, skills-based learning.

Two researchers and six Grace High School students and staff pose outside with a WASH system — Drs Joel Komakech and Jessica Graves (center), along with Mr. Kabali Edward (far right, Ag education school teacher) and the elected Safe Water Project (SWP) Committee, officially launched the SWP project at Grace High School, Gayaza, Uganda

The research component of the project received IRB approval in both Uganda and the United States, and the resulting data have already supported student poster presentations at the BCNHP department level and the MSU graduate symposium. The work from this project was also presented as a poster at NUTRITION 2025. Two resulting manuscripts are currently under review in Frontiers in Public Health and Public Health Nutrition. The team has submitted multiple external grant applications, including proposals to USAID, NIH (through MCCTR), and Gates Foundation (Grand challenges), and continues to pursue funding for expanded research and intervention efforts. This initiative not only generated valuable data and had a positive community impact but also laid the groundwork for future collaborations, including a proposed study abroad program and formal partnerships with Ugandan institutions.

Researcher holding a white rabbit outdoors with a group of students. — Dr. Jessica Graves (far left) explains, during the rabbitry management training at Grace High School in Gayaza, how and why it is crucial to trim rabbit nails

Researching teaching students outdoors about WASH systems — Dr. Joel Komakech (center) explains to selected students at Grace High School-Gayaza, Uganda, during the commissioning of the Safe Water Project (SWP), the importance of clean and safe water hydration concerning normal body functioning

Project Impact

Publications and Presentations

Edirisa Juniour Nsubuga, Jessica Graves, Oladayo E Apalowo, Rahel Mathews, Leah Pylate, Joel J Komakech, Prevalence and Determinants of Growth and Anemia Among Children Aged 6–59 Months in Busoga Region, Uganda, May–June 2024, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 9, Supplement 2, 2025,106754, ISSN 2475-2991, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.106754. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2475299125022140).