African countries could become less dependent on imported nutrition products under a new international research project seeking to develop locally produced foods for children suffering from malnutrition.
The NutriLOC project, officially launched on 1 September 2026, will bring together researchers and nutrition experts from Africa and Europe to develop affordable, sustainable and locally adapted approaches to preventing and treating child malnutrition. Backed by EUR4 million from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research programme, the four-year initiative is coordinated by the University of Helsinki.
At the centre of the project is a shift towards using ingredients that are already available and can be produced within African food systems. Researchers will investigate protein-rich spirulina and mycoprotein, both produced in Kenya, alongside locally sourced fish, legumes and cereals as potential ingredients for therapeutic and supplementary foods.
The approach could help address a major weakness in current malnutrition responses: limited access to treatment. Severe acute malnutrition treatment reaches fewer than one in five affected children in many settings, while moderate acute malnutrition affects even more children but has historically received less attention.
NutriLOC will seek to strengthen the use of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) and ready-to-use supplementary foods (RUSFs), while developing locally adapted fortified supplements (LAFSs). The products are expected to be non-dairy, nutritionally adequate, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable, with the longer-term goal of integrating them into national nutrition programmes.
For African countries, however, the project’s significance extends beyond the nutritional content of the products. By supporting local production and supply chains, researchers hope to build greater resilience into national responses to malnutrition while creating opportunities for farmers, food processors and other businesses.
The emphasis on local ingredients could also reduce some of the vulnerabilities associated with externally dependent nutrition systems, where countries may face supply disruptions, high costs or limited control over the products used in child nutrition programmes.
NutriLOC will also generate evidence intended to guide policy reforms, future research, investment decisions and strategies for scaling locally produced nutrition interventions. Its partners argue that sustainable progress will require solutions designed around the realities of the communities and food systems where malnutrition occurs.
“NutriLOC represents an important step towards sustainable and locally led nutrition solutions,” said Ndegwa H. Maina, Associate Professor in Food Chemistry at the University of Helsinki and project coordinator.
The consortium’s official kick-off meeting will take place in Accra, Ghana, on 2–3 October. Partners from Finland, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone and the UK will use the meeting to establish the project’s roadmap and collaborative activities for the next four years.
The initiative ultimately places local ownership at the heart of the fight against child malnutrition, linking better nutrition with stronger food systems, economic opportunities and greater African capacity to respond to one of the continent’s most persistent health challenges.
Article by Jed Mwangi
photo courtesy:ENN
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