Women's Empowerment and Child Nutrition: The Role of Intrinsic Agency
Jones, R., R. Haardörfer, U. Ramakrishnan, et al. SSM - Population Health, November 2019
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Research Articles
For this study, researchers examined nationally representative data from five countries in East Africa, considering measures of both child nutritional status and women’s empowerment. It found significant linkages between them. The article points out that although improving women's intrinsic agency may improve child nutrition (directly and through improved maternal nutrition), such strategies should also take household resource constraints into account.
Women's Empowerment in Agriculture and Nutritional Outcomes: Evidence from Six Countries in Africa and Asia
International Food Policy Research Institute, May 2020
- Nutrition and Health Systems
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Reports and Tools
Although evidence exists linking women’s empowerment and improved child human capital outcomes, researchers lack evidence about the relationship between women’s empowerment and child nutrition. This paper examines connections between women’s empowerment and the dietary and nutrition outcome of women, children, and their households by analyzing Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index data from six countries in Africa and Asia. The authors conclude that the most cost-effective interventions may be those that work to address the top contributors to women’s disempowerment while also improving a broad range of nutritional outcomes.
Women's Empowerment, Maternal Depression, and Stress: Evidence from Rural Burkina Faso
Leight, Jessica, Abdoulaye Pedehombga, Rasmané Ganaba, et al. SSM—Mental Health, September 2022
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Research Articles
Researchers found a significantly negative relationship between the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index score and maternal stress and depression. Self-efficacy and respect among household members were important drivers of this inverse relationship.
Women's Nutrition: A Summary of Evidence, Policy, and Practice including Adolescent and Maternal Life Stages
Emergency Nutrition Network, January 2022
- Nutrition and Health Systems
Reports and Tools
A study of evidence, interventions, and guidelines for the nutrition of adolescent girls and women found gaps that include a lack of guidelines on nutrition, preconception nutrition, and assessment of nutritional status. Other gaps include a lack of maternal outcome indicators, conflicting evidence about the best micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy, and a lack of integration of nutrition services within health systems. Authors provide recommendations for all gaps.
Women’s Diets Learning Agenda: Key Learning and Future Directions
USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
The report summarizes lessons learned in the areas of improving women’s diets through market food environments, demand creation, family diets, counseling and other health service delivery, and policies and policy implementation.
Women’s Empowerment, Food Security and Nutrition of Pastoral Communities in Tanzania
Galiè, Alessandra, Nils Tenfel, and Amy Webb Girard, et al. Global Food Security, Vol. 23, December 2019
- Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
- Food Systems
Research Articles
Scholars increasingly point to women’s empowerment as a means to enhance food security and nutrition; however, little is understood about the mechanisms that drive these relationships. This analysis uses a mixed methods approach to examine these interactions in Tanzanian pastoral communities. Both methodologies indicate a positive correlation between women’s empowerment and both dietary diversity and nutrition security. The authors recommend that scholars and programmers consider the non-economic domains of empowerment and combine technological and institutional interventions to promote women’s empowerment.
Women’s Empowerment: An Essential Ingredient for Improved Nutrition in India
Agrilinks, March 2023
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Reports and Tools
Participants in this study prioritized joint decision-making between women and men about agriculture-related household assets and women’s use of improved practices to grow nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits or to fish for household consumption and sales. Using a human-centered design approach, participants identified interventions to address harmful gender and social norms, including nutrition-sensitive agriculture training and exposure visits, that let women visit other successful female producers to learn about their experiences and practices.
Workflow for High-Quality Nutrition Social and Behavior Change
USAID Advancing Nutrition, September 2023
- Social and Behavior Change and Gender
Reports and Tools
The workflow diagram helps nutrition planners and practitioners identify practical social and behavior change tools at each step of a project cycle.
Working Within the Food System: Gender Considerations for Achieving Improved Diets
U.S. Agency for International Development, August 2022
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
Investments should enhance women’s roles in agriculture and off-farm livelihoods; provide workplace support to offset risks to household nutrition; and ensure opportunities for income generation, decision-making, and control over household income. Investments should also increase access to high-quality social and behavior change activities, and engage men and boys to address gender norms that restrict food system participation.
Working Within the Food System: Gender Considerations for Achieving Improved Diets
USAID, August 2022
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
Investments should improve women’s roles in agriculture and off-farm livelihoods; provide workplace support to offset risks to household nutrition; ensure opportunities for income generation, decision-making, and control over household income; increase access to high-quality social and behavior change activities; and engage men and boys to address gender norms.
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) #WBW2020 Action Folder
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, May 2020
- Knowledge Management
Reports and Tools
Protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding requires coordinated actions to identify and address structural, setting, and individual-level determinants. Authors identify fundamental challenges and detail actions that governments, donors, and NGOs must take to create a more enabling environment and improve breastfeeding practices.
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) #WBW2020 Pledge Map
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, May 2020
- Knowledge Management
Reports and Tools
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action has crowdsourced events and activities for Breastfeeding Week 2020 around the world. The interactive pledge map allows users to explore details of each event and activity categorized by country.
World Bank Support to Reducing Child Undernutrition: An Independent Evaluation
World Bank Group, October 2021
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Reports and Tools
This evaluation assesses the contributions of the World Bank to improving nutrition determinants and outcomes for children. Findings support adjusting programming to prioritize strengthening stakeholder engagement, coordination, and services for nutrition; increase focus on subnational targeting of interventions to prioritize areas of greatest disadvantage and persistency of need; rebalance investments to emphasize nutrition-specific interventions; and increase focus on social norms interventions and behavior change.
World Food Day 2021
FAO, October 2021
- Food Systems
Events
The platform hosts videos, highlights food heroes, and describes World Food Day events. It includes a call to action for all elements of agri-food systems to collaborate more fairly, sustainably, and inclusively.
World Food Day: Get Involved!
FAO, September 2021
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
The call for action provides tips and actions that individuals, governments, private companies and corporations, schools, civil society, academia, and others can take to improve food production, nutrition, and the environment. The report is available in English, French, Italian, and Spanish.
You Say You Want a Data Revolution? Taking on Food Systems Accountability
Marshall, Quinn, Alexandra L. Bellows, Rebecca McLaren, et al. Agriculture, May 2021
Research Articles
Data gaps and limitations hinder food systems learning and accountability. The Food Systems Dashboard improves access to and usage of food systems-related data to inform policies and actions to improve diets, nutrition, livelihoods, and environmental sustainability.
Young Children and the Pandemic
UNICEF, July 2021
Reports and Tools
While COVID-19 halted service provision for young children in many countries, UNICEF continues to implement early childhood development interventions to ensure that young children, especially those living in disadvantaged households, have access to holistic interventions that respond to their essential needs throughout the first eight years of life.
Youth and the Democratization of Food Systems
Nyéléni, December 2022
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
This newsletter critiques the global industrial food system, argues for greater food sovereignty, and discusses the importance of democratizing food systems and engaging young people in this work.
Zinc Fortification Country Briefs: Burkina Faso, and Senegal
IZiNCG, January 2022
- Food Systems
Reports and Tools
Briefs provide the rationale for zinc fortification, describe zinc deficiency and food fortification efforts, and outline actions that governments and supporting partners can take to remedy zinc deficiency through fortification.
“System of Hunger”: Understanding Causal Disaster Vulnerability of Indigenous Food Systems
Jackson, Guy, Karen E. McNamara, Bradd Witt. Journal of Rural Studies. November 4, 2019
- Nutrition in Humanitarian Contexts
Research Articles
Indigenous food systems are vulnerable to hazards that cause food insecurity. In indigenous contexts, particular care needs to be taken to account for unique cultural and social systems. Researchers have looked at the Bedamuni tribe in Papua, New Guinea and developed a food system causal disaster vulnerability framework that can help program planners, nongovernmental organizations, and policy makers reduce vulnerability and increase the resilience of indigenous food systems.