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The importance of gender for promoting food security and
nutrition Dr. Mary Shawa
Keynote Speech
Gender, food security and nutrition
• Women are the primary caretakers in the home, tasked with providing food and care for the family
• Women are highly involved in agriculture production, but have less access to inputs and advice so are less productive • Women’s gap in agricultural production decreases
productivity for the whole household• Women’s own nutritional and health status impacts the
nutritional status of her children• Timing and spacing of child births have impacts on the nutritional
status of her children, but women may not be empowered to choose
Page 3
Women’s standing has a significant role to play in child malnutrition globally
Women's
education
43%
National food
availability
26%
Health
environment
19%
Women's
status
12%
Contributions to reductions in child malnutrition, 1970-95
Source: Smith and Haddad 2000
Women at the Center of Ag-NutritionLinkages
Agricultural productivity
Agricultural labor
Child care
Women’s health and nutrition
Child’s health and nutrition
The critical role of women’s empowerment, time, health, & nutrition
Source: Sundberg, Birx and Ruel; BMGF Learning Session; January 2014
Key Figures Highlighting Gender Challenges for Improving Food Security and Nutrition
• Total fertility has decreased from 5.7 (2010) to 4.4 (2015/16), however adolescent childbirth still prevalent • 29% of adolescents age 15-19 in Malawi have begun childbearing (2015/16)
• Only 8 percent of children age 6-23 months have met the criteria for a minimum acceptable diet, which is highly linked to women’s time (2015/16)
• Women of reproductive age face micronutrient deficiencies, impacting their future children’s nutritional status: • One in three women (33%) is anaemic, 63% are deficient in zinc
Source: DHS 2015/16, MMS, NSO