About the Network for Gender and Nutrition Strengthening in Extension in Sierra Leone

Building on an Over 50-year University Partnership

The INGENAES project in Sierra Leone, led by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, adds to a partnership between Njala University and University of Illinois that began in the 1960s.

Njala University began 1963 through an agreement with the Government of Sierra Leone and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with University of Illinois faculty providing initial technical support to help establish academic agricultural and education departments.

Following Sierra Leone’s Civil War, new engagements in international research, joint teaching, and service projects revitalized the partnership.

An Extension Innovators’ Community of Practice

In August 2016, the University of Illinois partnered with Njala University to launch a network of over 40 extension organizations and institutions from the NGO, public, and private sectors committed to gender and nutrition integration within their programs.

Students as Future Gender & Nutrition Champions

INGENAES brings Njala students to the field with network members for outreach and mentors them in researching how agricultural technologies and extension approaches impact gender and nutrition dynamics.