Malnutrition among the under-5s is a widespread problem in Budaka, and has very serious long term impacts including stunting and much poorer life chances. Introduced in Budaka in 2024, this project aims sustainably to reduce malnutrition among the under 5s by teaching their caregivers how to cook nutritious meals from the foods they grow. The most malnourished children in a village are identified, and their caregivers invited, with their children, to join a twelve-day cooking programme run by trained nutritionists. As the children respond to an improved diet, they gain appetite, energy and weight, so the caregivers see the benefits of what they are learning. 

After participating in the first of these projects, the Government Health Assistant responsible for the area said:	We are so encouraged by this project. We have never seen this type of teaching in the community before, and we have been unsure of how to help malnourished children
and five caregivers told us	Before we came, our babies could not sit up and lacked energy, but now they are all sitting by themselves and smiling and looking at us

The local VHTs, trained by Just Small Change as part of our Village Health Team project, boost the impact of this project. They monitor the children’s progress and support the families for a further twelve months, having received five days' additional training in the basics of nutrition and how to spot signs of malnutrition. The VHTs and caregivers spread their knowledge among family, friends and neighbours, so that more children and families benefit.

By March 2025 three of these projects had begun and monitoring of progress is ongoing.