Por Renan Filho · 2026-10-07
**Lead**
A decades-old British public health slogan is finding new life in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments and development agencies are rolling out programmes inspired by the ‘Go to Work on an Egg’ campaign, originally launched in the United Kingdom in the 1950s, to improve maternal and child nutrition while simultaneously boosting local poultry economies. The initiative, which promotes daily egg consumption among pregnant women and new mothers, is being hailed as a cost-effective intervention that addresses both health outcomes and agricultural development.
**Context**
The original ‘Go to Work on an Egg’ campaign was created by the UK Egg Marketing Board in 1957 to encourage Britons to eat eggs for breakfast, capitalising on the post-war expansion of domestic egg production. The slogan became one of the most recognisable in British advertising history, credited with increasing per capita egg consumption significantly over the following decade. Now, nearly seventy years later, the same concept is being adapted for a very different context: rural and peri-urban communities in Africa where maternal malnutrition remains a persistent challenge.
According to reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), eggs are a near-perfect food for pregnant and lactating women. They provide high-quality protein, choline, and essential fatty acids critical for foetal brain development, as well as vitamins A, D, and B12. Yet in many parts of Africa, egg consumption remains low due to cultural taboos, limited supply, and cost. The ‘Go to Work on an Egg’ revival aims to break down these barriers by combining nutrition education with efforts to scale up local egg production.
Several countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda, have launched pilot programmes that distribute eggs to pregnant women through antenatal clinics, often subsidised by government or donor funding. The programmes are modelled on evidence from randomised controlled trials — conducted by organisations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the University of California — which showed that providing one egg per day to pregnant women reduced the risk of low birth weight and stunting. The economic logic is straightforward: healthier mothers and babies mean lower healthcare costs and a more productive future workforce.
**Analysis**
The economic implications of this campaign extend far beyond nutrition. By creating a stable demand for eggs among a vulnerable population, governments can provide a reliable market for smallholder poultry farmers, many of whom are women themselves. This creates a virtuous cycle: women farmers earn income from selling eggs, which in turn allows them to afford better nutrition for their own families. In countries where poultry farming is already a major livelihood, the campaign could accelerate the formalisation of the sector, attracting investment in feed, hatcheries, and cold-chain logistics.
Moreover, the initiative reduces reliance on imported food aid. Eggs are a locally producible source of animal protein, unlike many fortified supplements that must be shipped from abroad. By investing in domestic egg production, African nations can save foreign exchange and build food system resilience. The World Bank has noted in its country assessments that agricultural value chains centred on poultry offer some of the fastest returns on investment for smallholders, with relatively low barriers to entry. The ‘Go to Work on an Egg’ campaign thus aligns with broader continental strategies such as the African Union’s Malabo Declaration, which commits to ending hunger and improving nutrition through agricultural transformation.
However, challenges remain. In many communities, eggs are traditionally reserved for men or sold for cash rather than consumed by women and children. Behavioural change requires sustained messaging and trust-building with local health workers. Additionally, the cost of subsidising eggs for every pregnant woman is not negligible; governments must weigh it against other health priorities. Supply-side constraints — such as disease outbreaks like avian influenza, high feed costs, and limited access to credit for farmers — could also undermine the campaign’s scalability. Without complementary investments in veterinary services and market infrastructure, the initiative risks creating demand that cannot be met.
**Sources**
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – reports on egg nutrition and poultry value chains in Africa. - World Health Organization (WHO) – guidelines on maternal nutrition and the role of animal-source foods. - World Bank – agricultural development assessments and investment briefs on poultry in sub-Saharan Africa. - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – published research on egg supplementation trials in low-income settings. - Historical archives of the UK Egg Marketing Board and the British Egg Industry Council. - African Union Malabo Declaration on agricultural transformation and nutrition security.