“I believe [I] am fully equipped to support my family and even be an ambassador to other men in my community with this new knowledge.” —Alphane Ramadhan, an expectant father in Butere sub-county, Kenya.

Alphane Ramadhan is a Kenyan father whose recent participation in a male support group led him to understand his role in ensuring the health and nutrition of his family. By participating in group meetings and dialogues with pregnant and lactating mothers, men like Alphane can become nutrition champions, encouraging and accompanying mothers to their clinical appointments, addressing behavioral barriers to the uptake of antenatal care (ANC), postnatal care, and child welfare services. 

In Butere where he lives, a sub-county with a population of approximately 150,000 people located in the western region of Kenya, nutrition and health programs typically exclude men due to cultural and societal norms. The Malezi Mashinani project (Nutrition in the Grassroots) sees male engagement as an important part of improving access to and utilization of health and nutrition services in the 1,000 days from conception to a child’s second birthday.