Starting date: September 2024 Duration: 6 month(s) Type: M&E
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes, account for around 80% of all deaths in Uzbekistan (WHO, 2018). This alarming trend is closely linked to the country’s ongoing nutrition transition, which has led to significant changes in dietary habits. The rising consumption of processed and less nutritious foods is a major contributor to the increasing burden of NCDs. This public health challenge highlights the urgent need for interventions that promote healthier food choices and encourage physical activity in order to reduce the impact of these diseases.
However, gaps in nutrition and dietary data hinder the design of well-targeted programmes.
This initiative aims to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders, improve data collection efforts and better respond to the needs of key actors, while building the capacities required for future research activities.
The Delegation of the European Union in Tashkent requested support from the NRF to develop and implement a pilot nutrition survey in Uzbekistan with a training-of-trainers (TtT) activity in collaboration with the International Strategic Center for Agri-Food Development (ISCAD) and several relevant ministries (primarily Health and Agriculture) and local offices of international organisations (FAO, UNICEF, WHO, IFAD).
The NRF project evolved with growing interest in nutritional data, leading the Head of the Food Security Department of the Ministry of Agriculture to decide to extend the survey to 15,000 households. Following the NRF funding, technical assistance continued to develop the protocol for the large-scale nutrition survey (Annex 1), with funding from another EU-funded project (C4N).
The large-scale "Healthy Nutrition" household survey in Uzbekistan began on April 16, 2025, under the coordination of ISCAD. This full-scale survey was implemented with a budget agreed upon with UNICEF and FAO.
The selected methodology is a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey using multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling, targeting 15,000 households. Adults (20 years and above) and adolescents (10–19 years) were randomly selected from administrative lists.
Information collected covers:
• dietary quality (DQQ);
• household food insecurity (FIES);
• determinants of food choices (FCQ);
• the school food environment;
• sociodemographic and lifestyle data;
• anthropometric measurements (weight, height, Body Mass Index; WHO Z-scores).
Following six days of training and tool testing, 49 enumerators and 12 supervisors collected data over a five-month period across the country’s 12 regions.
The results will provide national estimates disaggregated by region, sex and place of residence.
Strengthening national nutrition data systems, improving evidence-based decision-making, and developing institutional capacities all contribute to the emergence of more resilient and sustainable food systems in Uzbekistan.
Main contact: Bridget Fenn
Email address: fennysnake@gmail.com