Dietary Intake, and Child Feeding Practices in the context of Climate Change among Indigenous and rural Communities in Uganda

Climate change is and is projected to impact negatively on health, food security and nutrition, and its effects are likely to be greater among vulnerable – including Indigenous – communities. However, literature assessing the relationship between dietary intake and child feeding, and climatic factors among Indigenous populations is scarce. The thesis’s aim is to characterize the diet of Indigenous Batwa and neighbouring non-Indigenous Bakiga communities living in southwestern Uganda, and to explore the likely impact of weather and seasonality on nutrients in foods (Chapter 2), on child feeding practices (Chapter 6), and on dietary intake (Chapter 7). This dissertation uses participatory community-based approaches, and mixed methods research to explore commonly consumed foods, included in a locally-relevant food composition database (Chapter 3 & 4), adult and child nutrition. Multiple fieldwork methods are included, such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, shop and market assessment, dietary surveys, and also the analysis of secondary data (Chapter 5) and a systematic review. At global level, climate change impacts on food nutritional content, particularly in marine species. Socio-cultural context and environmental factors, including seasonality, influence Batwa and Bakiga’s diet. Nutrient and caloric intake of both communities are inadequate over wet and dry months, especially for women and children. They mostly consume cereal and vegetable-based dishes, poor in vitamin A, zinc, iodine, and fats. Although breastfeeding prevalence is high, food insecurity linked to extreme climatic events, poverty, low health education, and alcoholism limit optimal child and maternal nutrition. This project contributes to filling the research gap on climatic and non-climatic factors influencing diets among Indigenous communities. Also, it offers insights towards the implementation of nutritional programs for vulnerable food-insecure populations by considering the likely effect of climatic changes. Interventions that are adapted to the unique environmental and cultural context of Indigenous populations can better address individuals’ nutritional needs and reduce malnutrition.