The Digital Push for Healthier Diets: Ugandans Demand for a Nutrient Profile Model

CEFROHT and UNCC-FOPWL took the national conversation online, hosting two powerful X (formerly Twitter) Spaces that brought together young advocates, nutrition experts, doctors, lawyers, and public health advocates to tackle one of Uganda’s fastest-growing crises: the rise of ultra-processed foods which are causing diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, overweight and obesity.

On 9th October, the first conversation titled “

Then on 13th October, the discussion got even more intense with the session titled “The Death Trap: Marketing Unhealthy Foods to Children.”https://x.com/i/spaces/1OyKAjlQOZqGb?s=20 This space shed light on the aggressive advertising targeting Uganda’s youngest consumers including flashy TV adverts from digital influencers promoting sugary drinks and fatty and salty food products. The panelists called out the absence of clear restrictions on marketing to children, arguing that this gap directly contributes to the growing burden of childhood overweight and obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Across both conversations, the message was clear and unified: Uganda urgently needs evidence-based laws and policies to regulate unhealthy food marketing and promote informed consumer choices. The adoption of a Nutrient Profiling Model would not only guide these policies but also empower parents, schools, and local governments to protect children’s right to health and adequate food.

These online dialogues showed the power of youth-driven advocacy in shaping national discourse. Hundreds of participants tuned in, shared insights, and demanded action from policymakers, including the Ministry of Health, to fast-track the NPM process and develop comprehensive food environment regulations.

As CEFROHT continues to push for a healthier, more transparent food system, platforms like X Spaces are proving to be powerful tools for civic engagement and accountability where knowledge meets action, and advocacy meets policy.

Listen here for the Recordings:

1. Ultra-Processed Foods and the Need for Legal and Policy Regulation in Uganda
2. The Death Trap: Marketing Unhealthy Foods to Children.

Join the conversation! Follow us on X @CefrohtUg and be part of Uganda’s movement for food justice, health, and human rights.

Sarah

Let us include links to. The spaces and online conversations, such that anyone who wants to see and or follow the conversation can go straight to those links