Gender-Inclusive Nutrition Activities in South Asia : Mapping Report

Sen, Soham; Hook, Mikael

Gender-Inclusive Nutrition Activities in South Asia : Mapping Report

Autores

Sen, Soham

Hook, Mikael

Editor

World Bank, Washington, DC

Descripción

This report is the first of a series that will explore how gender can be more comprehensively incorporated into nutrition interventions in the South Asia Region in order to improve the effectiveness these programs. The first section presents the rationale for considering gender in nutrition programs in the first place, moving beyond traditional services for mothers and children. It draws from the literature to describe why gender is an important factor for the high under-nutrition rates in South Asia and how a broad range of gender issues, rooted in a mother's capacity to care for herself and her child, affect nutritional outcomes of children. The second section presents the results of a mapping of nutrition programs in the South Asia Region. The mapping primarily finds that, despite its importance, gender is too narrowly addressed in most interventions. Existing programs typically focus on the first two approaches mentioned above: imparting nutritional knowledge and skills to the caregiver and improving physical health through food or micronutrient supplements and health services. The third section identifies several nutrition and health projects that have adopted promising approaches to include gender more comprehensively. To improve household support for the mother in providing child care, efforts to engage other members of the household such as fathers, grandmothers, and mothers-in-law appear promising. The final section concludes by recommending five steps to more comprehensively address gender in nutrition interventions: (1) begin a dialogue with policymakers inside development institutions and governments to expand the conversation on gender with regard to nutrition interventions that extends beyond mothers and children; (2) collect low hanging fruit: existing development interventions that engage adolescent girls should include a nutrition component; (3) facilitate the generation of new ideas to address the programmatic gaps and improve targeting; (4) evaluate promising approaches for effectiveness, scalability and applicability in different cultural contexts; and (5) conduct additional research in previously overlooked areas and fill gaps in existing data.

Palabras clave

ADEQUATE NUTRITION, ADOLESCENT FERTILITY, ADOLESCENT GIRLS, ADOLESCENT HEALTH, ADOLESCENT MOTHERS, ADOLESCENTS, ADULT HEALTH, AGED, ANTENATAL CARE, BABIES, BABY, BASIC NUTRITION, BEHAVIOR CHANGE, BIRTH ATTENDANTS, BIRTH CONTROL, BIRTH RATE, BLINDNESS, BREAST FEEDING, BREASTFEEDING, BULLETIN, CAREGIVERS, CHILD BIRTH, CHILD CARE, CHILD DEVELOPMENT, CHILD HEALTH, CHILD HEALTH CARE, CHILD MORTALITY, CHILD NUTRITION, CHILD SURVIVAL, CHILDBIRTH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY HEALTH, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, COMPLICATIONS, COMPLICATIONS DURING PREGNANCY, CONTRACEPTIVES, CONTROL OVER RESOURCES, COUNSELORS, CULTURAL SYSTEMS, DECISION MAKING, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS, DIETS, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, EARLY CHILDHOOD, ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY, ECONOMIC STATUS, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, ELDERLY, ELDERLY WOMEN, EQUAL ACCESS, FAMILIES, FAMILY HEALTH, FAMILY PLANNING, FAMILY WELFARE, FEMALE CHILDREN, FOOD INSECURITY, FOOD PREPARATION, FOOD PROCESSING, FOOD PRODUCTION, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD SUPPLEMENTS, GENDER AWARENESS, GENDER BIAS, GENDER DISCRIMINATION, GENDER EQUALITY, GENDER EQUITY, GENDER GAP, GENDER INEQUALITY, GENDER ISSUES, GENDER PARITY, GENDER ROLES, GIRLS IN SCHOOL, GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS, GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, HEALTH CARE, HEALTH CENTERS, HEALTH EDUCATION, HEALTH MESSAGES, HEALTH OUTCOMES, HEALTH SECTOR, HEALTH SERVICES, HEALTH SYSTEMS, HEALTH WORKERS, HOLISTIC APPROACH, HOSPITALS, HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS, HUSBANDS, ILL HEALTH, ILLNESS, IMMUNIZATION, IMMUNIZATIONS, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, INFANT, INFANT MORTALITY, INFORMATION SYSTEM, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INTERVENTION, IODINE DEFICIENCY, IRON, JOB TRAINING, LABOR FORCE, LARGE NUMBER OF WOMEN, LARGE NUMBERS OF WOMEN, LAWS, LEGAL STATUS, LIFE SKILLS, LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION, LITERACY RATES, LIVE BIRTHS, LOW BIRTH WEIGHT, MALE HEALTH, MALE HEALTH WORKERS, MALNOURISHED CHILDREN, MARRIED WOMEN, MASS MEDIA, MATERNAL HEALTH, MATERNAL MORTALITY, MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE, MATERNAL NUTRITION, MATERNITY LEAVE, MEDICAL RESEARCH, MEDICINES, MENTAL HEALTH, MIDWIFES, MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, MINISTRIES OF HEALTH, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, MORTALITY, MOTHER, MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS, NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NATIONAL PLAN, NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION, NATIONAL STRATEGY, NEGATIVE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES, NEWBORN, NEWBORNS, NUMBER OF GIRLS, NURSES, NUTRITION, NUTRITION EDUCATION, NUTRITION INFORMATION, NUTRITIONAL STATUS, PHYSICAL HEALTH, PHYSICAL WORK, PLAN OF ACTION, POLICY MAKERS, POLICY RESEARCH, POOR HEALTH, POOR NUTRITION, POPULATION REFERENCE BUREAU, POPULATION SECTOR, POSTNATAL CARE, PRACTITIONERS, PREGNANCIES, PREGNANCY, PREGNANT WOMAN, PREGNANT WOMEN, PREMATURE BIRTH, PRENATAL CARE, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PROGRESS, PUBLIC HEALTH, QUALITY OF CARE, RADIO, RADIO PROGRAMS, REFUGEES, RELIGIOUS LEADERS, REPRODUCTIVE AGE, REPRODUCTIVE DECISIONS, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS, RESPECT, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, RURAL WOMEN, SANITATION, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, SCHOOL ENROLMENT, SCHOOL STUDENTS, SEA LEVEL, SECONDARY SCHOOL, SECTORAL POLICIES, SECURITY POLICY, SELF-ESTEEM, SEX, SEX SELECTIVE ABORTIONS, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, SOCIAL BARRIERS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL FACTORS, SOCIAL NORMS, SOCIAL SUPPORT, SOCIAL WELFARE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TELEVISION, TRADITIONAL HEALERS, TRANSPORTATION, UNFPA, UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND, UNMARRIED MEN, VIOLENCE, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, VITAMINS, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, VULNERABLE FAMILIES, WAR, WOMAN, WORKERS, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, YOUNG CHILD, YOUNG CHILDREN, YOUNG GIRLS