Ruth Khasaya Oniang’o (born November 9, 1946) is a Kenyan Professor of

Nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

and a former member of Parliament. She created ''Rural Outreach Africa'' 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 CABI (legally CAB International, formerly Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux) is a nonprofit intergovernmental development and information organisation focusing primarily on agricultural and environmental issues in the developing world, and th ...

Life

Oniang’o was born in 1946. She attended Washington University where she obtained graduate and master's degrees between 1969 and 1974. She began university teaching in 1978. Oniang'o earned her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

, before finishing her education at

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

. In 1983 she was awarded a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

by the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

in Food Science and Nutrition. She was a leading nutritionist and became a Professor at Jomo Kenyatta University. Her research focused on topics such as

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

nutrition and pregnancy Nutrition and pregnancy refers to the nutrient intake, and dietary planning that is undertaken before, during and after pregnancy. Nutrition of the fetus begins at conception. For this reason, the nutrition of the mother is important from before co ...

, childhood nutrition and agricultural processing. She founded the Rural Outreach Program in 1992 to provide smalls farmers with indigenous soil testing and other resources needed to be productive. Oniang'o founded the ''African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development'' in 2001 to highlight relevant academic research in the field. She is currently the editor-in-chief of the journal. In 2002 she left academia to become active in Kenyan politics. She served in the

Kenyan Parliament The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013 ( 11th Parliament), it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablis ...

from 2003 to 2007. While serving, Oniang'o helped pass the Kenya Biosafety Bill and the Nutritionists and Dietetics Bills. In 2005, Oniang'o established the Diana Elukhambi Health Centre in

Kakamega Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of Kakamega County that has a population of 1,867,579 (2019 census). Kakamega is 52 km north of Kisumu, the tenth largest city in Ken ...

. In 2018 she was on the board of the UK based NGO the

. Oniang’o leads her country's ''Food Security and Nutrition Taskforce'' who are charged with overseeing the delivery of the National Food and Nutrition Policy. Oniang'o also leads the Rural Outreach Program, a non-profit organization which supports farmers in

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

and agricultural processing. The Rural Outreach Program works with Kenyan small farmers to promote the growth of indigenous crops like

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

, arrowroot, and jute mallow as a solution to ensuring food security.

Awards

Oniang'o has won several awards for her work in agriculture and food policy, including the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

and

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

. In 2014, she was awarded the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) Lifetime Award. She also won the

Africa Food Prize The Africa Food Prize, originally the Yara Prize, is an annual award for contributions to African agriculture. Yara Prize Yara International, a Norwegian chemical company and a large producer of fertilizer, established the Yara Prize for a Green ...

in 2017 for her work with the Rural Outreach Program. On June 22, 2018, Oniang'o was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree from

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

in recognition of her contributions to her field. Oniang'o was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by

New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as well ...

magazine in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oniang'o, Ruth 1946 births Living people Kenyan women in politics Women nutritionists Women food scientists Kenyan politicians