Project R-16791

Affordable, supplementary food(s) from Local Ingredients in efforts to address Moderate Malnutrition among Children Aged 5-7 Years in Economically Disadvantaged Families. (Research)

In addition to the high burden of stunting, wasting, and underweight among children, sub-Saharan African countries, including Ethiopia, remain at significant risk of failing to achieve global nutrition targets. This is driven partly by inadequate access to RUSF and other important nutrition interventions. This PhD project aims to develop affordable RUSFs from locally available ingredients and to evaluate their impact on the motor and cognitive outcomes of children aged 5-7years from economically disadvantaged families in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. To achieve this, five different work packages (WP) are proposed. In WP1, a scoping review of the literature will be employed to map information and research gaps regarding the production, marketing, and utilization of RUSFs in Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, a qualitative study will be conducted with relevant stakeholders to gain insights into the local availability and needs. In WP2, a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) will be employed to characterize potential local ingredient sources that can be used to develop RUSFs. In WP3, a constrained D-optimal mixture design will be employed for the formulation development part, and a pilot-scale experimental optimization design for the validation part will be employed to design, formulate, optimize, and validate the intended RUSFs. In WP4, a factorial experimental design will be used to investigate the effects of packaging materials and storage conditions on the safety, quality, and shelf stability of developed RUSFs. In WP5,a cluster randomized controlled trial design will be used to investigate the effects of newly developed RUSFs, whether or not combined with HiML, on nutritional status, motor skills, muscular fitness, body composition, and muscle strength among children aged 5-7 years.

18 June 2026 - 31 December 2030