African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

I have a vision to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition among the urban-poor in Nairobi (and other African cities) by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goal #2. I also have a vision of restoring Nairobi to a place of cool waters where people live in harmony and peace, in the spirit of “Ubuntu” (I am because we are) through establishment of a regenerative, transformative, human-centered food system by 2050.  My vision  (summary and webpage) is grounded on four foundational initiatives: (i) Promotion of innovative agro-ecological local food production in urban areas to promote availability of healthy foods among the urban-poor, enhance planetary health and food access (ii) Establishment of a food rescue system to redistribute excess food, thus reduce food loss, promote equity by enabling food access to the vulnerable, and protect the environment (iii)  Economic empowerment of urban-poor, youth and women, through agribusiness to promote food access and social justice and, (iv) Championing a social movement for policy change and reform, behavior and mindset change to promote the right to food at the population level towards healthier diets. The Elevate Prize would support the actualization of the vision through funding support and mentorship.

I wear many hats. I am a Senior Research Scientist at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) - with a long-standing experience (~20 years) of food and nutrition research among vulnerable populations particularly the urban-poor in Africa. I hold a PhD in Public Health (Nutrition).

I am an ardent human rights defender, building a legacy of justice. Based on my childhood exposures and inspirations, and longstanding experience working among the vulnerable populations in Africa, I have developed a passion in promoting social justice. I am particularly passionate about promoting the right to food for vulnerable populations, convinced that it is the most basic of human rights, upon which other rights including the right to life are anchored. I have documented high levels of hunger and malnutrition among vulnerable populations.  I am working with grassroots organizations including youth and women groups in urban-poor settings in Kenya to promote the right to food. I recently graduated with a degree in law, adding to my tool kit for the defense of human rights. I am positioning myself as a global leader in the fight against hunger in line with the SDG #2. I am passionate about ending hunger for the urban-poor.

APHRC's vision is transforming lives in Africa.

With my contribution, APHRC has been conducting research among the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa for the last 20 years. Our research indicates that about 80% of urban poor households in Nairobi are food insecure while about 50% of children under five years are stunted. Nairobi’s population is projected to triple from 4.7 million today to 14 million by 2050, with the majority projected to live in urban-poor settings. This may worsen the situation of food security and environmental degradation. The Right to Food Initiative at APHRC (which I lead), aims to transform the experiences of Africans through promotion of the right to food and transformation of food systems. We work with grassroots organizations in urban-poor settings in Kenya to promote understanding on the constitutional right to food and  the concept of food security, and catalyze change towards a more food secure environment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiUrKBdHRCA&t=4s). Our EU funded Healthy Food Africa Project, is establishing a Food System Lab in Nairobi to promote food security among the urban poor through innovative urban farming and food safety measures, and to promote economic empowerment of women and youth through agribusiness.

APHRC leads transformative change!

Our work is about transformative change. It offers opportunities and builds capabilities of grassroots organizations to lead transformative change in their communities by providing financial support, capacity building, opportunity to lead in their communities and mentorship to ensure excellence, convinced of the strength of demand driven transformative change. It empowers communities by promoting their agency and participation in decision making, through public engagement. Our social movement is expected to change mindsets, create momentum towards respect for human rights and change how food is conceptualized - from the perspective of food as a commodity to food as a common good, a basic human right that should be accessed and enjoyed by all, despite socio-economic status.  We are also promoting the spirit of “Ubuntu” -I am because we are-  and social justice in an environment with high levels of inequality. Our other unique strength is our research expertise and longstanding research in the communities we are leading change in, our ability to combine interventions and applied research to be able to document change and pathways for possible replication and scale up.         

Our vision will incorporate key approaches with the full participation of youth, women, and people of diverse cultural and economic standing. 

APHRC has a longstanding experience of research among the urban poor in Africa.  We research among communities to first understand their problems. We do reviews of literature to understand existing evidence based solutions to problems and actively and respectfully engage communities to understand their perspectives on solutions to problems that affect them.  APHRC has developed lasting relationships and trust with the communities where we work. This is critical in bringing about transformative and sustainable change. We also engage change agents including policy makers and the civil society to gain their perspectives to draw a way forward.

We believe in community sovereignty and in the transformative nature and potential sustainability of demand driven change. We take cognizance of, and respect the wealth of knowledge that exists within communities in resolving their problems, aware that communities have survived through devising local solutions. Our role therefore, is to empower the communities and enhance their efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of their local solutions. We work with grassroots organizations including youth and women groups to build their capacities and capabilities and create opportunities and mentorship for them to participate in driving change in their communities.