Nurture Posterity International (NutriPosh), founded by Ibrahim Kasujja, a PhD student within the Centre for Global Mental Health supervised by Professor Crick Lund and Dr Tatiana Salisbury, has been named one of only two Grand Prize Winners of the 2025 Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge, receiving a USD 250,000 award. Kasujja established NutriPosh during his Master’s studies at McGill University as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar and has continued to expand the initiative alongside his doctoral research at King’s College London.
Although the award sits within the food systems and nutrition space, the work is deeply connected to themes central to global mental health. Kasujja’s PhD research examines children’s experiences of food insecurity in Uganda and its associations with emotional, behavioural, cognitive, and educational outcomes, highlighting the often overlooked links between hunger, child development, learning, and mental health.
NutriPosh was built on the same conviction: that food insecurity is not only a nutritional challenge but also a developmental and mental health challenge. Through fortified pumpkin‑enriched composite flours, decentralised production systems, regenerative agriculture, and the NutriPosh Information Management System (NIMS), the organisation addresses structural barriers that shape children’s ability to thrive and learn.
Today, NutriPosh reaches more than 240,000 children across 297 schools and works with over 2,700 smallholder farmers, most of whom are women. Beyond improving access to nutritious meals, the initiative strengthens food security, supports local livelihoods, reduces learning barriers associated with hunger, and promotes healthier developmental trajectories for children.
Commenting on the award, Kasujja noted:
“As a PhD student within the Centre for Global Mental Health, I view this recognition as an example of how research, implementation, and community-led innovation can come together to address interconnected determinants of child well-being. The award also highlights the growing recognition of food insecurity as an important social determinant of mental health, particularly for children and adolescents living in resource-constrained settings. I remain deeply grateful for the support, mentorship, and academic environment provided by the Centre for Global Mental Health and King’s College London, which continue to shape both my research and practical work.”
The Centre for Global Mental Health warmly congratulates Ibrahim on this outstanding achievement and celebrates the impact of his work at the intersection of food security, child development, and mental health.
