Agriculture and Environment

Dr. Robert Fungo, Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (FUNAS) and Lecturer, School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bio-Engineering, Makerere University

 In Uganda today, an estimated twelve million children suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, and about 920,000 suffer from wasting or acute undernourishment. At the same time, diseases associated with affluence in urban centers, like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart diseases, are growing most rapidly in Uganda. This combination of diseases associated with poverty, and diseases associated with wealth, is why scientists speak about low- and middle-income countries facing a “double disease burden.”

The Westernization of African Diets

The Westernization of African diets has led many Ugandans to associate our indigenous and traditional foods, like African leafy vegetables or edible insects such as grasshoppers—vital sources of vitamins, amino acids, and minerals—with poverty. It is a great pity that so many children die from nutrient deficiency, yet these abundant foods exist in our midst.

The value of traditional foods and indigenous diets is being re-evaluated in Africa, with recent studies showcasing that these foods are healthful and nutritionally beneficial. Traditional food systems draw on well-adapted interactions between humans, their resources, and environments to ensure that nutritional needs are met. But these interactions are being undermined. Weakened communities invest less in management practices that conserve or enhance resources, leading to high disease prevalence and exacerbating the loss of knowledge and cultural values related to resource use. Communities, many of which now face the challenges of climate change, are left with a diminished ability to cope in times of shortage and stress.

The Potential of Indigenous African Foods to Improve Health

Traditional African foods have been scientifically proven to reduce both high malnutrition rates, and rising cardiovascular disease rates. If consumed in adequate amounts, these foods can contribute 30-100% of daily human requirements for energy, proteins, dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, and iron. Promoting the consumption of these foods to counter negative perceptions and attitudes, and to trigger behavioral change, will require strong awareness-raising efforts from policymakers, extension services, NGOs, schools, community-based organizations, hospitals and health centers.

Indigenous diets have been receiving increasing attention and support internationally—but there is still a long way to go. We need to reach not only international development partners, but also the local health workers who call wild vegetables weeds, and the doctors who have never imagined that shrubs might be a good source of vitamin D or B12, and who shudder at the idea of eating them themselves.

As Ugandans, we need to reframe our approach to traditional and indigenous foods. They should not be neglected as wild foods, or “foods for the poor,”—they are healthy and nutritious foods for us all.