Dr. Beatrice Ekesa

Dynamic leader with extensive international experience in team management, strategic multi-stakeholder engagement and partnership building. Proven track record in program design, program review and program evaluation. Excellent skills in scientific and professional writing, proofreading and editing. Adept at negotiation skills, mentoring and leading high achieving multi-cultural teams.

• Bioefficacy of vitamin A from banana and effect of inflammation on vitamin A absorption among children in Uganda, 06/01/21 - 12/31/24, Euros 127,000, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA UGA6020)
• The effect of inflammation on vitamin A absorption efficiency and applicability of Dried Serum Spot paper in determining total body stores (TBS) of vitamin A using stable isotope dilution technique, 01/01/22 - 12/31/25, Euros 49,500, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA Contract No. 24830)
• Melanesia Rural Market & Innovation Driven Programme in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, 10/01/20 - 09/30/24, USD 2,500,000, USD 737,000, IFAD
• Building Resilience to enhance food and Nutrition security, income and health in Northern Uganda, 04/01/20 - 12/31/22, Euros 5,021,054, Euros 561,851, European Union
• Partnerships for Healthy Diets and Nutrition in Urban African Food Systems-Evidence And Strategies (NOURICITY), 09/01/19 - 08/01/21, Euros 250,000, Euros 49,969, LEAP-AGRI
• Addressing Vitamin A Deficiencies in Sub-Saharan Africa through Musa-based foods, 03/01/13 - 12/31/21, USD 966,000, HarvestPlus through the Global Challenge Program
• Strengthen the rationale with nexus linkages across biodiversity-climate change-food, Nutrition and health in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Samoa and Tonga, 04/01/20 - 12/31/20, USD 80,000, FAO
• Orange Fleshed Sweet potato (OFSP) Puree for Safe and Nutritious Food Products and Economic Opportunities for Women and Youths in Kenya, Uganda and Malawi, 11/01/18 - 12/31/20, USD 980,000, USD 150,000, RTB Scaling fund
• Developing agrobiodiversity-based strategies for the alleviation of micronutrient and protein deficiencies among smallholder households in banana growing regions of East Africa, 06/01/12 - 12/31/16, Euros 500,000, Austrian Development Agency (ADA)

• Agronomic and organoleptic performance of organically produced provitamin A rich bananas for introduction into farming and diet systems of Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo, Ekesa, B., Simbare, A., Kamira, M., Sivirihauma, C., Shimwela, M. and Nabuuma, D., Acta Hortic., 2023, 10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1367.37
• The impact of climate change on food systems, diet quality, nutrition, and health outcomes: A narrative review, Owino V, Kumwenda C, Ekesa B, Parker ME, Ewoldt L, Roos N, Lee WT and Tome D, Front. Clim., 2022, 10.3389/fclim.2022.941842
• Access to and Utilization of Wild Species for Food and Nutrition Security in Teso and Acholi Sub-regions of Uganda, Ekesa Beatrice, Andrea Fongar and Mulumba Nasser, Front. Sustain. Food Syst., 06/28/22, 10.3389/fsufs.2022.836212
• Scaling Readiness of Biofortified Root, Tuber, and Banana Crops for Africa, Low, J., Ball, AM., Ilona, P., Ekesa, B., Heck, S., Pfeiffer, W., Root, Tuber and Banana Food System Innovations, 2022, 10.1007/978-3-030-92022-7_17
• Reassessing the Cost-Effectiveness of High-Provitamin A Bananas to Reduce Vitamin A Deficiency in Uganda, Kozicka M, Elsey J, Ekesa B, Ajambo S, Kikulwe E and Gotor E, Front. Sustain. Food Syst., 2021, 10.3389/fsufs.2021.649424
• Relationships between land tenure insecurity, agrobiodiversity, and dietary diversity of women of reproductive age: Evidence from Acholi and Teso subregions of Uganda, Ekesa B, Ariong RM, Kennedy G, Baganizi M, Dolan I., Matern Child Nutr., 12/2020, 10.1111/mcn.12965
• Content of Iron and Vitamin A in Common Foods Given to Children 12–59 Months Old from North Western Tanzania and Central Uganda, Ekesa Beatrice, Nabuuma Deborah and Kennedy Gina, Nutrients., 02/26/19, 10.3390/nu11030484
• Multi-Level Participatory Approaches to Mobilize Dietary Diversity for Improved Infant and Young Child Feeding in Banana-Based Agri-Food Systems of Rural East Africa, Ekesa, et al, Public Health, Disease And Development In Africa, 2018, Ezekiel Kalipeni, Juliet Iwelunmor, Diana Grigsby-Toussaint, and Imelda Moise, 978-1138631250
• Sensory evaluation of provitamin A carotenoid-rich banana cultivars on trial for potential adoption in Burundi and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Ekesa, et al, Fruits, 2017, 10.17660/th2017/72.5.1
• Selected Superfoods and Their Derived Superdiets, Ekesa Beatrice Nakhauka, Superfood and Functional Food - The Development of Superfoods and Their Roles as Medicine, 2017, 10.5772/67239
• Provitamin A carotenoid content of unripe and ripe banana cultivars for potential adoption in eastern Africa, Ekesa, et al, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 06/2015, 10.1016/j.jfca.2015.04.003
• Content and Retention of Provitamin A Carotenoids Following Ripening and Local Processing of Four Popular Musa Cultivars from Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Ekesa, et al, Sustainable Agriculture Research, 12/2012, 10.5539/sar.v2n2p60
• Bioaccessibility of provitamin A carotenoids in bananas (Musa spp.) and derived dishes in African countries, Ekesa, et al, Food Chemistry, 03/2012, 10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.02.036
• Dietary diversity and nutritional status of pre-school children from Musa -dependent households in Gitega (Burundi) And Butembo (Democratic Republic Of Congo), Ekesa et al, African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 09/2011, 10.4314/ajfand.v11i4.69141
• Accessibility To And Consumption Of Indigenous Vegetables And Fruits By Rural Households In Matungu Division, Western Kenya, BN Ekesa, MK Walingo, MO Abukutsa-Onyango, African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 12/2009, 10.4314/ajfand.v9i8.48410
• Dietary diversity, nutrition status and morbidity of pre-school children in Matungu division, Western Kenya, Beatrice Nakhauka Ekesa, Mary Khakoni Walingo, Mary Abukutsa Onyango, International Journal of Food Safety Nutrition and Public Health, 01/2009, 10.1504/IJFSNPH.2009.029279
• Agricultural biodiversity for food and nutrient security: The Kenyan perspective, Beatrice Nakhauka Ekesa, International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 11/2009

• LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/beatrice-ekesa-65946748/
• CGSpace, https://cgspace.cgiar.org/discover?rpp=10&etal=0&query=Beatrice+Ekesa&group_by=none&page=3
• ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Beatrice_Ekesa/publications

• Certificate in Performance Leadership, 07/19/23, eCornell University
• Certificate in Innovation and Scaling, 07/04/23, Innovation and Scaling Services SL
• Certificate in Women Leading in Times of Crisis, 07/01/21, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)
• Certificate in Institution Change Management, 01/01/20, Prosci ANZ
• Certificate in Women's Leadership and Management, 08/01/12, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)

• Representative for IFAD to the UN Nutrition, 2019
• Curator and main convener Research- and Science-Led Food Systems dialogue in Uganda, 08/07/21
• Mentor, Women in Agricultural Research and Development fellowship (AWARD), 2016
• Representative of the CGIAR at the National Food Systems Coordination Committee for Uganda, 10/16/22
• Senior Editorial Board member for the UN Nutrition journal, 05/01/21
• External Editor for the Frontiers Journal for sustainable food systems, 05/01/21
• Reviewer for the Ecology of Food and Nutrition Journal