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Mothers and community based organisations tackle childhood nutrition in Nepal

Evidence from countries such as Indonesia and Burkina Faso suggests that community-based organisations (CBOs) can play an important role in helping rural women reduce childhood malnutrition. This could be the key to addressing malnutrition in rural Nepal, where government programmes have so far failed to empower women with the knowledge to reduce high levels of chronic malnutrition in children.

Childhood malnutrition is a severe problem in Nepal. On average, every second child is chronically malnourished or stunted. The causes are diverse: poverty, a harsh physical environment, conflict, and overextended national institutions. To date, there has been little research into the potential of CBOs in Nepal. Researchers from the University of Manchester, in the UK, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, in Italy, consider the strengths, weaknesses, and impact of CBOs with regard to child malnutrition in Nepal.

The researchers explore the role of programmes designed to support groups of women and mothers in improving food and nutrition security in Nepal. They draw upon data gathered from 63 CBOs and 427 households in two districts of Nepal, one in the hill region, the other in the plains. These CBOs can be divided into three groups: those receiving intensive support from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) programmes, those receiving moderate support from the Ministry of Local Development, and independent organisations belonging to mothers’ groups.

Key findings include:

Autonomous mothers’ groups play an important role in improving childhood nutrition, and perform better than organisations that are being supported or funded by the government or donors.
Not all children of households in mothers’ groups, however, are better nourished.
External support to train mothers to diagnose types of child malnutrition, learn causes and find location specific solutions is essential to reduce the prevalence of stunted children.
Radio is an effective instrument for reinforcing training provided by facilitators.
Healthier mothers, healthier children: children of energy-deficient women are three times more likely to have low birth weight than those of women with normal Body Mass Index.
If policymakers and donors treat malnutrition as a minor issue of ‘home economics’ or relegate it to food and micronutrient supplementation, it is inevitable that the problem will persist, with high costs for the country as a whole.

The results support evidence from nutrition-focused programmes in India, Tanzania, Thailand and Indonesia that their success relies on community understanding and knowledge of malnutrition, and that the improved status of women generally improves the nutritional well-being of their children.

The authors suggest that policymakers and donors design programmes that:

raise the capabilities of mother’s groups in leadership and management, and savings and financial support through training programmes
raise maternal nutrition knowledge
are grounded in a better awareness of levels of chronic malnutrition, including its causes and solutions
use relevant indicators in targeting interventions and for community monitoring of effectiveness (stunting, underweight and maternal Body Mass Index).

Source(s):
‘Women’s Organisations, Maternal Knowledge and Social Capital to Reduce Prevalence of Stunted Children: Evidence from Rural Nepal’, Journal of Development Studies, 43 (3), pages 456-489, by Per Eklund, Katsushi Imai and Fabrizio Felloni, 2007

Funded by: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

id21 Research Highlight: 9 October 2007

Further Information:
Per A. Eklund
Olastorpsv. 112,
26995, Båstad
Sweden

Contact the contributor: per.a.eklund@bjarenet.com; fa556421@skynet.be

Katsushi Imai
Economic Studies, School of Social Sciences
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL,
UK

Tel: +44 (0)161 275 4827
Fax: +44 (0)161 275 4812
Contact the contributor: Katsushi.Imai@manchester.ac.uk

University of Manchester, UK

Fabrizio Felloni
IFAD, 107 via del Serafico
00142, Rome
Italy

Contact the contributor: f.felloni@ifad.org

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