R.G. (Regien) Biesma-Blanco

1) HORTI-ICP (1 maart 2020-1 maart 2023) WP leader UMCG: Regien Biesma

The project with the title “ Horn of Africa Food System Resilience: Making Horticulture Work for Healthier Diets and Income Generation in Protracted Crises” is a regional approach to building capacities of HE/TVETS, contributing to food system resilience in protracted crisis (particularly in Sool and Sanaag), using horticulture as an entrance point for healthier diets and income generation through a Joint-up Learning Pathway (JLP) serving various user groups including professionals, youth and women. 

Meeting sector demand to narrow the nutrient is at the core whilst connecting with governments, UN agencies, NGOs and private sector. The Dutch partner consortium - consisting of Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation (WUR-WCDI), University Medical Center Groningen, Tilburg University’s (TU) Zero Hunger Lab (ZHL), the shared regional anchor of the West Nile Innovation Hub (WNIH) in NW Uganda and Bahir Dar University’ Institute of Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Studies (BDU-IDRMFSS) in Ethiopia – develops aligned education and training course packages, including e-learning courses and ToTs, creating the JLP in which data literacy for evidence-based programming, nutrition courses and entrepreneurial horticulture approaches and practices are coupled to establish local hubs of knowledge and expertise. 

The requesting organizations (Sanaag and Nugaal University, the Yei Crop Training Centre) will be supported through in country anchors (Juba University, Burao University) ensuring capacities are embedded and instrumental to N-S-S partnerships. The intervention is aligned with ongoing TMT+ and ICP actions and work with existing innovative programmes, particularly the FNS-REPRO programme.

2) NWA Improving food and nutrition security by enhancing women's empowerment (PI prof Robert Lensink (FEB, RUG), WP1 leader Regien Biesma (Global Health Unit, UMCG). Dec 2021-Dec 2024

The empowerment of women affects household food security, the diversity of diets and also the Body Mass Index (BMI) of women themselves. But women's empowerment has many sides and not all of these sides contribute to better nutrition. Within this project, researchers analyze the ways in which women's empowerment can influence food security and contribute to achieving SDG 2: no hunger.

This study is innovative because it provides a new framework for research into the relationship between women's empowerment and food and nutrition security. In addition, this is also the first study in which a combination of conventional economic interventions is tested against newly developed modules that focus on both psychological barriers and gender norms.

Project partners from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Germany (Passau), and UG/UMCG to help improve food security and women empowerment in developing economies with this multidisciplinary project.”

3) Prevention and Screening Innovation Project Towards Elimination of Cervical Cancer (PRESCRIP-TEC)

The PRESCRIP-TEC project has been awarded three million euros in funding from the European H2020 research programme. It is a study of innovative approaches to cervical cancer screening using self-testing for HPV infection and cervical examination using artificial intelligence. The study should provide a more effective approach to screening and provide insights into the costs and benefits of this innovative approach. The research project will last three years and will be carried out in Uganda, India, Bangladesh and Slovakia. The UMCG GZW department, Global Health Unit, is in charge of the project.

Researchers of Health Sciences
Jelle Stekelenburg, Regien Biesma-Blanco, Jurjen van der Schans, Jaap Koot