Ruth Oniang'o

Ruth Khasaya Oniang’o (born September 9, 1946) is a Kenyan Professor of Nutrition and a former member of Parliament. She created Rural Outreach Africa (ROA) to empower smallholders to address malnutrition, she oversees her country's nutrition policy, and she is on the board of the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International.

Ruth Oniang'o

Quotes

• This was my dream since my childhood days.
  • Thomson Reuters Foundation October 22, 2017
• I can't say there's just one thing that I'm satisfied with. But […] when people start to tell you that you have made a difference in their lives; when you see land policies change and companies begin to pay differently, that men and women should both be there, that is an achievement.
  • [1]
• Now we are diversifying food crop production and emphasising healthy diets, bringing in water literacy, and addressing gender inequities and children’s [wellbeing]. It’s been like a whole community effort.
  • [2]
• The journal was premised on what I had done in the field – it is like looking at an African village and everything that goes on in there! – but ultimately, [it’s about] how to feed your family a healthy diet.
  • [3]
• When I started the journal, even getting it indexed internationally was not easy because it's interdisciplinary. So, in terms of gaps, I would say it’s that interdisciplinarity that is missing.
  • [4]
• Working on climate, environmental sanitation, food processing, crop growing, food allocation, gender issues – this is all connected, [but] people still operate in silos. I was very happy when the UN came up with the Sustainable Development Goals and goal number 17 was partnerships and collaboration. You have to work together to be able to achieve something tangible.
  • [5]