Gender-Specific Nutrition Interventions in Adolescent Girls Schools of Uganda: A Comparative Study

Adolescent girls in Uganda face significant nutritional challenges, particularly related to iron deficiency anemia (IDA). These deficiencies can affect cognitive development and academic performance. The research utilised a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, with participants randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving tailored nutritional supplements or a control group without such support. Data collection included baseline surveys, follow-up assessments over six months, and analysis of hemoglobin levels as a proxy for IDA. The intervention group showed a statistically significant decrease in mean hemoglobin levels by 15% (95% CI: -20% to -10%) compared to the control group. This reduction was more pronounced among girls from households with lower income, highlighting the effectiveness of targeted nutrition support. The gender-specific nutrition interventions demonstrated efficacy in improving hemoglobin levels and potentially enhancing academic performance by addressing nutritional deficiencies common in adolescent girls' diets. Further research should explore long-term effects and sustainability of these interventions. Policy makers are encouraged to implement similar programmes in schools across Uganda to combat IDA among young females. adolescent girls, nutrition intervention, hemoglobin levels, randomized controlled trial Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.