Significant progress has been made for girls and women in recent years; since 2015, 50 million more girls have walked the halls of schools around the world, millions more women have entered the workforce, more women are in leadership roles, child marriage rates have fallen worldwide, and maternal mortality has decreased.
Nutrition plays a key role in this progress. Well-nourished girls perform better in school, well-nourished mothers have healthier pregnancies and are less likely to experience birth complications, and well-nourished women have higher earnings. This increase in income gives women more control over decisions that affect their diet and the nutrition of their children. Furthermore, improved nutrition, especially for women and girls, is crucial to achieving gender equality and the UN’s Global Goalscomprehensive.
Despite this progress, however, more than 1 billion adolescent girls and women worldwide still suffer from malnutrition, nutrient deficiencies, or anemia. Moreover, rates of acute malnutrition among pregnant and lactating women and adolescent girls have increased by 25% since 2020 in the 12 countries most affected by the global food and nutrition crisis. In South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, 68% of girls and women are underweight, and 60% of girls and women are anemia.
The global food crisis will be made worse by rising food and fuel prices, conflict, poverty and extreme weather events caused by climate change, which will make it even harder for the most vulnerable adolescent girls and women to access the nutritious diets, resources and care they need.
No country is currently on track to meet the 2030 global targets of halving anaemia among adolescent girls and women and reducing low birth weight in newborns by 30%. The global response through policies, programmes and actions falls short of ensuring the right to adequate nutrition for all adolescent girls and women.
Here are six ways we can improve nutrition for women and girls.
1. Invest in women’s economic empowerment.
Adolescent girls and women are better able to access the nutritious nutrition and care they need when they are empowered to make important decisions that affect their lives and have adequate access to economic resources.
Women’s participation in the workforce leads to increased dietary diversity and nutrition in the household, a benefit not just for women but for everyone in the household. This is because women gain financial independence, are more knowledgeable about different diets, and are empowered to make decisions at home, enabling them to make healthier and more diverse food choices for themselves and their families.
2. Expand multi-micronutrient supplements for pregnant women.
A healthy pregnancy requires a balanced diet that provides enough energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals to meet the growing needs of both the mother and the developing baby. Yet, many pregnant women do not consume enough fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products to meet these requirements. This is often due to lack of access to these valuable nutrients due to location, food price increases, the effects of climate change on local foods, or even unrest that limits food availability.
This can lead to deficiencies in essential nutrients, a problem that is particularly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, South-Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. Maternal malnutrition is common in these regions and is known to contribute significantly to poor birth outcomes.
Multi-micronutrient supplements containing 15 essential micronutrients,It has been proven to be a safe and effective way to increase dietary intake during pregnancy. This drug has been proven to be more effective than iron and folic acid supplements in addressing the issue of low birth weight, especially in cases of anemic or underweight pregnant women. Another important benefit of these supplements is that they can help reduce maternal deaths and stillbirths.
Despite their benefits, only 43% of pregnant women take iron and folic acid supplements, and only 29 low- and middle-income countries provide multiple micronutrient supplements at scale.
3. Expand social protection programmes to include women’s nutritional security.
Social protection programs can help combat vulnerability, gender inequality, and poverty by providing resources such as cash, food, or vouchers to low-income households. Targeted social protection for women can improve food and nutrition security by increasing women’s autonomy and decision-making power. Women who benefit from these programs tend to make better nutritional decisions for themselves and their children.
4. Increasing investments for women in the agricultural sector.
Did you know that women and girls make up an estimated 43% of the agricultural workforce in the Global South? However, they face barriers that male farmers do not, such as limited access to land, credit, and machinery. Supporting the basic needs of women in agriculture can improve their well-being, reduce hunger, increase incomes, and improve resilience.
5. Increase funding for research on nutrition for women and girls.
As with most development issues, research and data are key to addressing nutritional concerns among adolescent girls and women. Regular data collection and analysis can inform communities and governments about the scale and impact of malnutrition in women, increase understanding of the severity of the problem, and then guide effective action.
UNICEF emphasizes this point: “Without data and evidence, we cannot reveal the true extent of the nutrition problem and create demand for faster and more effective action.”
6. Invest in nutrition education for women and girls.
Education is key: Providing nutrition education to adolescent girls improves their nutritional knowledge and can lead to better dietary choices. Additionally, nutrition education can lead to improved academic performance.
Schools are effective in improving girls’ nutrition by providing nutrition education, implementing nutrition programs that provide students with nutrients, or promoting health initiatives such as deworming and hand washing.
Access to nutrition is a fundamental right that should not be determined by where you live or your gender. Join Global Citizen to advocate for increased funding and call on world leaders to remove systematic barriers to nutrition for women and girls. Together, we can pave the way for a better future for all by ensuring women and girls have access to good nutrition.