Making Nutrition a Family Affair

Increasing access to good nutrition in Tanzania.

It is harvest time and Emmanuel Uggi is gathering the green-leaf vegetables he has grown. Emmanuel joined his local Farmer Field School when his pregnant wife, Anna, was diagnosed with anaemia. Anaemia is a common condition of pregnant women in Tanzania and is often caused by a lack of iron in the diet.

Farmer Field Schools are led by progressive farmers who teach their neighbours how to grow a variety of nutritious foods including green vegetables, rich in iron and other essential nutrients. This is part of a community effort to combat under-nutrition and ensure families, especially pregnant women and children, have access to a varied diet. The farmers learn how to cultivate seedlings in nursery, transplant them and fertilise them. Emmanuel has used this training to set up his own kitchen garden at home, and is making sure that Anna has enough vegetables to prevent anaemia. “I did not know about green vegetables before” he says, “the field school has helped me get out of the trouble I was facing”.

The family’s increased knowledge of nutrition and access to fresh vegetables has had a positive impact, and at Anna’s last medical check-up her haemoglobin levels had increased.

In partnership with UNICEF, Irish Aid supports 25,000 households in six districts, including Iringa District, to diversify their food production and improve nutrition practices as part of a multi-sectoral approach to scaling up nutrition.