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FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION
Research | Insight | Action & Advocacy
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Hunger and malnutrition arise from multiple, inter-related sources. Gender inequality is a major factor in perpetuating a hunger-poverty cycle. Women throughout the world are the primary food and care providers for their families, yet because of gender norms, they often have limited access to and control over resources and are excluded from household decision-making.
Research
Our research shows that placing resources in the hands of women often leads to the quickest gains for households because women are more likely to directly invest in their family's health, education and nutrition.
ICRW first linked nutrition and gender in the 1980s as part of our effort to reduce malnutrition in parts of Latin America, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Since then, our work has incorporated gender into nutrition and agriculture programs.
Insight
We now know that strategies that aim to tackle hunger and malnutrition must address the underlying and linked issues of gender inequality.
By addressing both nutrition and gender issues, we get at the root of the hunger problem. This approach — linking gender and nutrition — provides a practical tool for on-the-ground results.
Action & Advocacy
ICRW uses gender analysis tools to help communities understand gender norms and how these may contribute to poor household nutritional status and hunger. ICRW builds nutrition and gender objectives and interventions into existing programs or develops new interventions. This approach improves nutrition outcomes and food security by determining how to enhance women's roles and status, decision-making capabilities and control over resources.
Our programs focus on interrelated and interdisciplinary approaches to addressing nutrition and food security. We collaborate with organizations that work in agriculture, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, education and women's empowerment, as well as local and national governments.
ICRW also advocates for U.S. food security policies to support the role of women in agriculture and include gender equity provisions to reduce hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.
Related ProjectS
Photo Credit:
310167-001 Demetrio Carrasco/ courtesy of Getty Images