On 17 May 2016, the sixth Scaling Up Nutrition: In Practice brief “Empowering women and Girls to Improve Nutrition: Building a Sisterhood of Success” was launched at the 2016 Women Deliver Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
As evidence has long suggested, gender inequality can be a cause as well as an effect of hunger and malnutrition. Not surprisingly, higher levels of gender discrimination are associated with higher levels of both acute and chronic undernutrition.
Gender and nutrition are not stand-alone issues with some experts considering women to be the nexus of the agriculture, health and nutrition sectors. Studies have shown that when women’s incomes rise they tend to invest more in the nutrition, education, and health of their family, causing a ripple effect that can benefit entire communities— Higher female earnings and bargaining power translate into greater investment in children’s education, health and nutrition, which leads to economic growth in the long term.
Authors from five SUN Countries, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan, Malawi and Zimbabwe, have contributed accounts of their experiences of gender responsive nutrition actions. These articles present activities and approaches so that other SUN members can be inspired to address immediate nutrition needs while progressing women’s social and economic empowerment.
The Scaling Up Nutrition: In Practice briefs present the experiences of SUN country governments, and other national stakeholders, as they scale up their efforts to ensure all people enjoy good nutrition. Each brief in the series focuses on a theme selected by SUN country government focal points for sharing their experience during a series of teleconference calls with focal points and country teams that take place every two months.