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 help develop a National Nutrition Information System (NNIS) and strengthen the country’s capacity to collect reliable data on diet and nutrition. The NRF therefore supported the Ministries of Agriculture and Health in designing and implementing a pilot household nutrition survey, aiming to test— for the first time in Uzbekistan—standardised tools for assessing dietary intake and nutritional status.
The pilot phase and training sessions revealed strong interest from stakeholders, but also limited capacity to conduct a large-scale survey, particularly regarding sampling methodologies. This led to the provision of strengthened technical assistance to enable the preparation of a full national survey.
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