At a glance: The Nutrition for Naigobya campaign is working towards a fundraising goal of $8,000, which will be used to provide adequate nutrition for mothers and children under 5 in the village of Naigobya, Uganda.

Key Fact: Wasting and malnutrition among children under five years is 22.9% in the Busoga region where Naigobya is located, compared to 15.9% for Uganda while anemia in children under five years is 79.5%

Partner Info: Uganda Development and Health Associates (UDHA) is a grassroots non-governmental organization formed by Ugandan professionals to address the health and related developmental problems faced by the Ugandan population, in order to  secure better futures for the people in their disadvantaged and underserved communities.  The mission of UDHA is to "engage a multi-sectoral and professional approach with strong community participation and ownership for the enhancement of health and development of communities."  Key among UDHA's goals is the promotion of maternal-child health in rural areas that largely lack access to health
education and other services. If you would like more information about our partner, please visit them at www.UDHA.net.

Project/impact: In addition to the numerous barriers to accessing healthcare by the poor, the traditional mode of healthcare delivery has focused on leadership by the technical staff without sufficient consideration of the needs of different subgroups. Typical to rural communities in Iganga and Uganda, the population in Naigobya faces extreme difficulties in meeting their basic needs due to wide spread
poverty, inadequate mechanisms for social support, inadequate healthcare services and a high rate of HIV infections. There is an overwhelming gap in levels of community mobilization, hence communities are not fully empowered to participate in identifying and prioritizing their health needs let alone participating in healthcare decision making process. The inadequacy of food availability in terms of quantity and variety, together with poor feeding practices and a prevalence of diseases like malaria puts children at great risk of malnutrition. We will target children through working with their mothers or other caregivers.

Chapter history: This is GlobeMed at WashU's second year running. This past summer, our chapter sent a team of three students to work alongside UDHA staff to implement last year's project of developing a youth care center focused on the health and development of local youth while also devising this year's nutrition project. We look forward to watching our
relationship with UDHA grow as we continue our work together to secure health in the underserved communities in which UDHA operates.