Gender-inclusive Nutrition Activities in South Asia : Volume 2. Lessons from Global Experiences

Lesser Blumberg, Rae; Dewhurst, Kara; Sen, Soham G.

Gender-inclusive Nutrition Activities in South Asia : Volume 2. Lessons from Global Experiences

Autores

Lesser Blumberg, Rae

Dewhurst, Kara

Sen, Soham G.

Editor

World Bank, Washington, DC

Descripción

This paper examines promising approaches from a wide array of literatures to improve gender-inclusive nutrition interventions in South Asia. It is the second of a series on gender and nutrition in South Asia. The first paper explored why gender matters for undernutrition in the region and conducted a mapping of regional nutrition initiatives to find that gender is too narrowly addressed in most programs if at all. Adequately addressing gender2 requires nutrition programs to focus not only on health services and information for the mother and her children, but also on her autonomy and the support she receives from her partner, other household members, and the broader community. This focus is especially important for adolescent mothers in the region, who have very low status. The present study drew from the conceptual framework of the previous paper and investigated four types of innovations in nutrition initiatives that address gender. These entail promoting: (1) women s household autonomy; (2) household support for the woman and her own and her children s nutrition; (3) community support for the woman and her own and her children s nutrition; and (4) help for adolescent girls. Though the ideal "gender-inclusive nutrition interventions" package (GINI for short) was never found, based on the findings of this review, it can be described. Indeed, it is quite consonant with this study s conceptual framework. The most effective programs would encompass the following "success factors": (a) ensure that the targeted women not only earn but control income (as in the HKI homestead garden projects in Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia); (b) get the powerful members of young married women s households - men and paternal grandmothers - on board by means of peer advocacy and community-oriented programs that (c) provide them with information on nutrition and women s child welfare-focused spending patterns, (d) as well as (small) incentives so they don t seize control of income or marketable food generated by those women. These programs also would (e) train forward-looking local women (including grandmothers) and men for volunteer roles (preferably with small incentives for sustainability). (f) They would provide BCC on nutrition and help increase support by community leaders, religious figures and members for young women s livelihoods as well as mother/child nutrition. (g) Finally, the ideal GINI would also target teen girls, offering them nutrition information, along with incentives to parents to keep them in school and programs for the girls to earn money. Positive examples encountered in the literature are presented below (along with some partial successes that need further refinement). If polished and scaled up, such programs could put a big dent in the "South Asian Enigma" and both the gender inequities and malnutrition that define it.

Palabras clave

ABUSE, ADEQUATE NUTRITION, ADOLESCENT GIRLS, ADOLESCENT MOTHERS, ADOLESCENTS, AGE OF MARRIAGE, AGED, AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES, AGRICULTURE, AID, ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES, ANTENATAL CARE, BABIES, BABY, BASIC NUTRITION, BEHAVIOR CHANGE, BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES, BREAST, BREAST FEEDING, BREASTFEEDING, CHILD CARE, CHILD DEVELOPMENT, CHILD HEALTH, CHILD MALNUTRITION, CHILD NUTRITION, CHILD SURVIVAL, CHILD WELFARE, CHILDBEARING, CHILDBIRTH, CHRONIC MALNUTRITION, COMMUNITY HEALTH, CONTROL OVER RESOURCES, CROPS, CYCLE OF POVERTY, DECISION MAKING, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DRINKING WATER, EARLY CHILDHOOD, EARLY MARRIAGE, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, ECONOMIC RESOURCES, ECONOMIC TRENDS, ECONOMICS, EDUCATION PROGRAMS, EDUCATION PROJECTS, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN, ENHANCING WOMEN, ETHNIC GROUP, FAMILIES, FAMILY INCOME, FAMILY MEMBERS, FAMILY PLANNING, FARMERS, FASHION, FATHER, FATHERS, FEED, FEMALE, FEMALE LITERACY, FEMALES, FERTILITY, FIRST BIRTH, FIRST BIRTHS, FIRST PREGNANCY, FOOD PREPARATION, FOOD PRODUCTION, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD STORAGE, GENDER, GENDER BIAS, GENDER DISCRIMINATION, GENDER EQUITY, GENDER INEQUALITY, GENDER INEQUITIES, GENDER NORMS, GENDER ROLES, GIRLS IN SCHOOL, HEALTH CARE, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, HEALTH CENTERS, HEALTH EDUCATION, HEALTH FACILITIES, HEALTH INTERVENTIONS, HEALTH MINISTRIES, HEALTH PROBLEMS, HEALTH SERVICES, HEALTH SYSTEM, HEALTH WORKERS, HEIGHT FOR AGE, HOME VISITS, HOSPITAL, HOSPITALS, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUNGER, HUNGER PROJECT, HUSBANDS, HYGIENE, ILLNESS, IMPACT ON CHILDREN, INCOME-GENERATING ACTIVITIES, INCOMES, INFANT, INFANT MORTALITY, INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN, INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS, INTERVENTION, JOB-SEEKERS, KINSHIP, LACK OF AWARENESS, LAWS, LEADERSHIP, LEARNING, LEGAL STATUS, LEVEL OF EDUCATION, LIVELIHOODS, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, LOCAL COMMUNITY, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, LOW BIRTH WEIGHT, MALE INVOLVEMENT, MARRIAGE AGE, MARRIED WOMEN, MATERNAL DEATHS, MATERNAL MORTALITY, MATERNAL MORTALITY RATES, MATERNAL NUTRITION, MEDICINE, MENTAL HEALTH, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, MOTHER, MOTHERHOOD, NATIONAL COUNCIL, NATIONAL LEVEL, NEWBORN, NGOS, NUMBER OF CHILDREN, NUTRITION, NUTRITION EDUCATION, NUTRITION INFORMATION, NUTRITION PROGRAMS, NUTRITIONAL NEEDS, NUTRITIONAL STATUS, OLDER WOMEN, OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN, ORPHANS, PHYSICAL HEALTH, PILOT PROJECTS, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, POLICY RESEARCH, POOR NUTRITION, PREGNANCIES, PREGNANCY, PREGNANT WOMAN, PREGNANT WOMEN, PRENATAL CARE, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, PROGRESS, QUALITY EDUCATION, RADIO, READING, REFUGEE, REGULAR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, RELIGIOUS LEADERS, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, RESPECT, RURAL AREAS, RURAL WOMEN, SANITATION, SANITATION FACILITIES, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, SCHOOL HEALTH, SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN, SCHOOLING, SCHOOLS, SELF ESTEEM, SELF-CONFIDENCE, SELF-ESTEEM, SEX, SKILLS TRAINING, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL DIMENSIONS, SOCIAL NETWORKS, SOCIAL NORMS, SOCIAL SCIENCE, SPECIALISTS, STATUS OF WOMEN, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TEEN, TEEN GIRLS, TEENAGERS, TEENS, TRADITIONAL BIRTH ATTENDANT, TRADITIONAL HEALERS, VICTIMS, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, WOMAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, YOUNG CHILDREN, YOUNG COUPLES, YOUNG MOTHERS, YOUNG WOMEN