Refugee Insect Production for Food and Feed: the School Meal Intervention

NCT06739629 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: S400- REFIPRO STUDY
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 342
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to assess whether edible insect-enriched school porridge has nutrition and health benefits for children aged 6-9 years in refugee communities in Uganda. The main question the research aims to answer is: Does a daily serving of maize porridge enriched with yellow mealworm flour improve the gut health, growth, and micronutrient status of children in comparison to a standard maize porridge? Participants will: Consume a daily serving of yellow mealworm porridge or a maize porridge for one school term (3 months). Data is collected before, during and after the intervention period.

Conditions

Nutrition, Healthy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in linear growth based on absolute height gain over 3 months intervention period

  Assessing the effect of the intervention on height gain measured in cm

  3 months

Secondary Outcomes (24)

• Change in myeloperoxidase (MPO) over 3 months intervention period

  3 months

• Change in alpha-1-anti-trypsin (AAT) over 3 months intervention period

  3 months

• Change in in Neopterin (NEO) over the 3 months intervention period

  3 months

• Change in weight over the 3 months intervention period

  3 months

• Change in BMI- for- age Z-score over 3 months intervention period

  3 months

Study Arms (2)

Yellow mealworm-enriched porridge

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive a daily meal of yellow mealworm-enriched porridge, served in schools. The porridge provides 420 Kcal/serving

Other: Insect porridge

Maize porridge

OTHER

Participants receive a standard maize porridge served in schools. This porridge is comparable to the porridge served in the parent-led school feeding program.

Other: Maize Porridge

Interventions

Insect porridge OTHER

Yellow mealworm porridge

Also known as: Yellow mealworm porridge, Edible insect porridge

Yellow mealworm-enriched porridge

Maize Porridge OTHER

Maize porridge

Also known as: porridge

Maize porridge

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Years - 9 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Children in Primary 1 in Bukere and Kako primary school
• Age: 6-9 years
• Child can eat insects
• Written informed consent given by parent/caregiver

You may not qualify if:

• Severe acute malnutrition measured as MUAC \< 13.5 cm
• Known allergies related to consuming insects
• Disability that impedes eating capacity
• Disability that makes height assessment problematic
• Family plans to move away or deregister child from Kako and Bukere primary schools within the school term.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Copenhagen: lead
• Makerere University: collaborator
• International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE): collaborator
• Mothers Against Malnutrition and Hunger: collaborator
• Child and Family Health, Uganda: collaborator
• Research and Action for Income Security: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Kako and Bukere Primary School

Kyegegwa, Uganda

Location

Study Officials

• Ezekiel Mupere, PhD, MD

  Makerere University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Data collectors assessing anthropometric measures, dietary records and questionnaires were masked
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Two-arm randomized intervention

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 22, 2024
• First Posted: December 18, 2024
• Study Start: June 17, 2024
• Primary Completion: October 25, 2024
• Study Completion: October 25, 2024
• Last Updated: December 27, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

UG (1)