Presentation by: Amina Ibrahim Sheikh Abdulla ADDRESSING GENDER IN FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION The Zambia Experience

 870 million people are undernourished; over 90% in developing countries (FAO)  239 million in Africa (1 in 4 people)  The world produces 17% more than it used to produce 4 decades ago (FAO,2002)  Most don’t have the means to produce nor the purchasing power to access food 2. Global Overview

 Poverty-1.2 billion living below poverty line (50% female)  Conflict  Climate change- increased frequency of droughts, flooding 3 Principal Causes

4 Sub-Saharan Africa  413 million living in poverty-nearly half of its population  1 in 4 people is undernourished -most affected are women and children  In Zambia, 45% of children <5 are stunted with long term irreversible impact on development and future productivity  Linked to access to nutritious food and status of women in the communities they live in

 Agricultural impact on nutrition and food security not just dependent on production  Involves a number of other factors: –Income from sale of produce –Interaction with market –Natural resource environment –Health environment –Control of income and assets –Knowledge, attitudes and practice  Tendency to address gender issues in most programmes is to target women in relation to transfer of inputs 5. Addressing Gender in Agriculture

6. Realigning Agriculture for Improved Nutrition (RAIN) Project to develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of a sustainable scalable model that integrates agriculture, nutrition and health interventions to prevent child and maternal under nutrition among rural communities in Zambia

 Empowerment under the project focuses on –Individual (women’s skills, knowledge, confidence and aspirations) –Relational (ability to negotiate and influence relationships and decisions); –Structural (laws, policies, social norms and culture) –Associational  Detailed gender analysis undertaken at the onset of the project  Programme activities, materials and approach developed based on this analysis  Involves multiple stakeholders and groups in trainings, selection of extension workers and community conversations 8. How RAIN is Addressing Gender

 Based on 2013 outcome analysis  Analysis explored links between women’s empowerment and knowledge and children’s nutrition and health outcomes  Women’s empowerment is positively associated with –minimum dietary diversity among children 6-23 months –the likelihood of visiting health clinic in the last 6 months 9 Findings from Rain Project

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