When it comes to building healthier communities, healthy habits need to take root – and behaviour change is the fuel needed to drive this agenda. In Kisumu, Kenya, local health promoters are changing eating habits through participatory nutrition education.
The Food System Lab Kisumu, through the HealthyFoodAfrica project, has been at the forefront of promoting nutrition behaviour change communication to improve diets of community members – particularly women and children between 6 and 24 months, who face many nutrition and food insecurity challenges.
Working hand in hand with a team of community health promoters and supported by the Kisumu County nutrition team, we set out to disseminate simple, context-specific and practical nutrition messages that could help change the diets of women and young children towards healthier consumption.
The process was participatory from the beginning: we gathered ideas from different stakeholders and community members in Kisumu to identify the key nutrition messages most relevant to their context. Using these ideas, we developed nutrition education materials such as posters, flyers, and local recipes. The aim was to improve the knowledge of women, mothers, and caregivers of young children on topics like appropriate complementary feeding, food safety and hygiene, and dietary diversification for the whole family using locally available foods and ingredients.
Bringing nutrition education to the people
Afterwards, the community health promoters were trained to use these materials during nutrition education activities. Previously, most community members received nutrition messages only when they visited health facilities. However, the HealthyFoodAfrica project enabled the promoters to reach people directly through home visits, group sessions, and other forums such as outreaches and religious events.
Participatory cooking demonstrations were conducted to transfer practical skills and encourage mothers to use local recipes to prepare nutritious foods. During these sessions, they also learned how to modify foods to make them suitable for young children.
Recognising that men are key decision-makers in the community, male health promoters were also involved in delivering the sessions, and men were encouraged to actively participate in nutrition education and cooking demonstrations.
Community members responded to the nutrition education activities with zeal and enthusiasm. Mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and even local elders were eager to learn. They showed up, took part actively, and even brought their own ingredients for use during cooking sessions.
They especially appreciated receiving take-home flyers and being included in hands-on activities, instead of just being lectured to – something many said was a first for them. They also valued that the materials were not only in English but translated into Swahili, making them easier to understand.
Positive changes in knowledge and diets
Survey data comparing baseline and endline results shows an improvement in nutrition knowledge and awareness in both the comparison and intervention groups (p=0.007 and p= 0.001, respectively), suggesting possible spillover effects through trained households or other organisations. There was also a small positive change in dietary practices, with improved intake observed among those who received nutrition education. Women and children are now eating a wider variety of nutritious foods, as reflected in their dietary diversity scores.
It is encouraging to see families not only feeding themselves better, but also practicing appropriate complementary feeding, giving young children a healthy start in life.
And the best part? The community health promoters are not stopping. Even as the project comes to an end, they have committed to continuing their work. They will integrate nutrition education into their daily activities and continue following up with the households they support – ensuring that good nutrition practices remain rooted in the community.
Because we worked through existing community structures from the beginning, rather than creating a new system, this ongoing impact is both possible and sustainable. With stronger knowledge and better practices, the outlook for nutrition in Kisumu’s informal settlements is looking brighter. Community members have expressed their commitment to continue applying what they have learned: not just eating whatever is available, but making conscious choices to eat healthy, diverse, and nutritious foods.
Lessons learned
-
Participatory implementation – co-creation, co-design, and co-delivery of nutrition education foster ownership and sustainability.
-
Working through existing systems – using structures like community health promoters supports long-term impact.
-
Capacity building – training local resource people and providing materials ensures consistency and accuracy.
-
Multiple approaches – home visits, group sessions, cooking demos, and public events increase reach and build practical skills.
Authors: Consolata Musita, Tosin Akingbemisilu, Christine Kiria Chege, Joseph Amoke, Céline Termote