USAID Advancing Nutrition develops, curates, packages, and shares multi-sectoral nutrition knowledge to help you stay on top of developments and evidence in global nutrition programming.
Evidence of Effective Approaches to Social and Behavior Change Communication for Preventing and Reducing Stunting and Anemia
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Social and Behavior Change and GenderMicronutrient Interventions
In an effort to support governments and other stakeholders in their delivery of high-impact nutrition practices, the Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) Project conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed evidence regarding the effectiveness of social and behavior change communication approaches to increase the uptake of three key nutrition beh
A practical job aid for decision-making about programs, policy, media coverage, research, and funding priorities, this two-page document details recent lessons learned and best practices for engaging males in health promotion and gender equity work across health areas.
Maternal Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Breastfeeding Practices in 51 Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study
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Nutrition and Health SystemsSocial and Behavior Change and Gender
The effect of intimate partner violence (IPV) on breastfeeding practices has not been adequately studied. To help fill this knowledge gap, the authors examined population-based cross-sectional demographic and health surveys from 51 low- and middle-income countries around the globe, looking at data on IPV and breastfeeding practices.
Fathers' Nutrition Knowledge is Associated with Household's, Women's, and Child's Dietary Diversity in the Agriculture to Nutrition Study in Ethiopia
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Nutrition and Health SystemsSocial and Behavior Change and Gender
Conducted by the Agriculture to Nutrition (ATONU) project, this cluster randomized control trial examines associations between paternal and maternal nutritional knowledge on household, child, and maternal dietary diversity. Researchers conclude that interventions that engage fathers can improve women’s empowerment and household nutrition.
Women’s Empowerment, Food Security and Nutrition of Pastoral Communities in Tanzania
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Nutrition in Humanitarian ContextsFood Systems
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.
Women experience higher rates of food insecurity than men do. To illustrate the linkages between gender and food insecurity, Women Deliver developed a two-page infographic that uses the “nutrition fact” format seen on commercial food labels.
The World Food Program is increasingly relying on cash-based transfers to assist food insecure populations. This analysis used a desk review, fieldwork and case studies, a practitioner survey, and a learning workshop to explore how cash-based interventions affect gender equality and women’s empowerment.
It Takes a Village: An Empirical Analysis of How Husbands, Mothers‐in‐Law, Health Workers, and Mothers Influence Breastfeeding Practices in Uttar Pradesh, India
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Nutrition in Humanitarian ContextsSocial and Behavior Change and Gender
In two districts in northern India, researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey among recently delivered women, husbands, and mothers/mothers-in-law to examine the association between four key determinants and three breastfeeding outcomes.
Women's Empowerment and Child Nutrition: The Role of Intrinsic Agency
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Nutrition and Health Systems
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.
Empowering women is one of the key ways we can work to improve food security for all. In this factsheet, Feed the Future provides a brief outline of three actionable steps they are taking to close the “gender gaps” in our food systems: investing in women, engaging men, and measuring empowerment.
Every Child Counts: Using Gender Data to Drive Results for Children
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Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
In response to a demand for high-quality gender data and statistics, this report details UNICEF’s gender statistics framework and best practices for advancing gender data for children. This five-part document explains how UNICEF aims to apply a gender perspective during child data production, analysis, and dissemination.
Food Taboos, Health Beliefs, and Gender: Understanding Household Food Choice and Nutrition in Rural Tajikistan
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Monitoring, Evaluation, and LearningSocial and Behavior Change and Gender
Understanding food taboos and health beliefs can provide important insights into how social interactions affect nutritional status. This quantitative study investigates the influence of gender and power structures on dietary knowledge and practices at the household level.
Is Women's Empowerment a Pathway to Improving Child Nutrition Outcomes in a Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Program? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Burkina Faso
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Food SystemsMonitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
To explore the link between women’s empowerment and improved child nutrition, this study evaluated the outcomes of a nutrition- and gender-sensitive agriculture program in Burkina Faso. The results provide the first experimental evidence that efforts to increase women’s empowerment can lead to improved child nutrition.
Gendered Time, Seasonality, and Nutrition: Insights from Two Indian Districts
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Monitoring, Evaluation, and LearningSocial and Behavior Change and Gender
Using primary data from two Indian districts, collected as part of the Farming System for Nutrition (FSN) study, researchers examined the effect of work burdens on agricultural and nutritional outcomes.
Development of the Project-Level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (Pro-WEAI)
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Food Systems
Researchers recently adapted the widely used Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) to develop a measurement tool that can help agricultural development projects better monitor and measure their impact. The tool restructures and adds indicators to measure project impact across groups and over time.
Globally, women often face barriers to agricultural supply chains. IDH developed this toolkit to help programmers integrate gender into their supply chain approaches by changing business practices, improving sector governance, and increasing field-level sustainability.
Crafting the Next Generation of CGIAR Research: Policy Seminar
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Food Systems
This seminar shared important messages from an upcoming CGIAR report and book on gender research in agriculture and natural resource management. The publications will synthesize current research and propose a forward-looking agenda for future research in this area.
2019 Annual Trends and Outlook Report: Gender Equality in Rural Africa: From Commitments to Outcomes
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Nutrition in Humanitarian ContextsKnowledge Management
The authors use evidence reviews and case studies to demonstrate that increasing female leadership, minimizing women’s institutional barriers, and promoting women’s control of productive assets would produce significant societal gains and reduce the negative impact of gender gaps on African households.
Progress of the World’s Women 2019-2020. Families in a Changing World
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Early Childhood DevelopmentFood Systems
As this landmark report points out, families can be, “places of love, care, and fulfillment but, too often, they are also spaces where women’s and girls’ rights are violated, their voices are stifled, and where gender inequality prevails.” To counter this reality, the report proposes affordable family-friendly policies to advance gender equality in