The Importance of Women's Involvement in Economic Activities in the Improvement of Child Nutrition and Health
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Beatrice Rogers; Nadia Youssef
- Source
- Food and Nutrition Bulletin. 10:1-9
- Subject
- 0303 health sciences
Economic growth
Nutrition and Dietetics
Child rearing
030309 nutrition & dietetics
business.industry
Occupational prestige
Geography, Planning and Development
Social change
Developing country
Context (language use)
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Health care
Health education
030212 general & internal medicine
Business
Socioeconomic status
Food Science
- Language
- ISSN
- 1564-8265
0379-5721
Since nutritional problems have their origin in social and economic systems one of the objectives of a sound nutrition program must be to bring about changes in these systems particularly at the household level. Since the current recession is impacting negatively on the economies of developing countries sound nutrition and health programs must be based on community self-reliance; and since women have a central role in the health and nutrition of children a sound nutrition program must support womens capacity to generate and control income. The purposes of this paper are 1) to outline the reasons why nutrition and health care programs should focus on income generation for women; 2) to show how womens groups begun for economic reasons became forums for nutrition and health education; and 3) to identify issues in designing such programs including accomodating child care needs. Womens income-generating activities gain respect for womens work time and can serve as channels of communication for health care concepts and thus gain women the added respect that attaches to anyone in a village with a medical role. Since women have the traditional role of feeding and caring for children income earned by women is likely to increase the nutritional status of children. The collective organization of women for income-earning purposes is important because it breaks down womens isolation it strengthens womens income-earning opportunities it fosters exchange of knowledge and experience and it facilitates flexible working conditions that accommodate child care needs. All-women enterprises offer the best chance for control of income and labor by women and offer women the opportunity for structuring the work environment to meet child-care needs. Economic activities outside the home are better for women than home-based work because the women are more likely to achieve direct payment for their work they are more visible they are more in the mainstream of the economy and they are more likely to benefit from production-enhancing technology. Women will be channeled into the economic mainstream fastest if they can build upon existing skills such as food production and processing. Women"s groups organized to secure economic advantages can also function as vehicles for social change. Examples include the Collective Womens Garden Group in Senegal the Lijjat Pappad enterprise in India the Markala Cooperative in Mali the Self-Employed Womens Association in India the Grameen Bank project in Bangladesh and various credit associations if Africa and Java. 1 advantage of womens economic activities introduced in the context of nutrition or economic programs is that adequate child care can be built into the project through the existing support system. Through flexibility in the work schedule or through organized child-care services.