Ruth Oniang'o

Ruth Khasaya Oniang’o (born November 9, 1946) is a Kenyan Professor of Nutrition 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. 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 and master's degree from Washington State University, before finishing her education at University of Nairobi. In 1983 she was awarded a PhD by the University of Nairobi 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, nutrition and pregnancy, 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.