Gender

Improvements in nutrition for all will not be possible without addressing gender issues and women’s empowerment.

Women and adolescent girls are at greater risk of malnutrition due to the increased nutritional needs associated with menstruation, pregnancy, and lactation. This is reflected in the high rates of anemia which affects 33 percent of women of reproductive age globally (about 613 million women). Women are also more exposed to risk factors for malnutrition such as HIV/AIDS, food insecurity and poverty. Finally, the prevalence of obesity is higher among women (15 percent) than men (11 percent).

The nutritional status of women and girls has major implications on the well-being and nutrition of all family members. For example, a women’s nutritional status has a direct impact on their children’s: an undernourished pregnant mother is more likely to give birth to a low-birth weight child who is then at greater risk of malnutrition during childhood and in later life. And the children of obese women are more likely to become obese and suffer from diabetes. This is called the “inter-generational cycle of malnutrition”. Furthermore, a mother weakened by malnutrition is also less able to feed and care for infants, young children and the family, thereby affecting their well-being.

The determinants of malnutrition are often intrinsically related to gender dynamics in households and communities. Improving gender dynamics is thus a necessity to prevent malnutrition. Likewise, investments in multi-sectoral programmes and policies that address the root causes of malnutrition are an opportunity to advance women’s empowerment.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Agreed Conclusions of the 62nd Session of the CSW (March 2018) strongly reaffirmed rural women and girls’ right to food and nutrition while recognizing their crucial contributions to local and national economies and to the achievement of food security and improved nutrition, in particular in poor and vulnerable households (UN CSW 2018).

Latest content relevant to Gender

Results 1-9 of 9

Food Systems Dialogue on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment for Food Security and Nutrition

16/06/2020 - Tuesday, 16 June10:00am - 12:00pm EDT / 16:00 - 18:00 CEST FAO North America and CARE invite you to an interactive dialogue on the key role of women in food systems, and the urgent need to [...]

Webinar: Cost-effectiveness of anaemia prevention interventions

23/01/2020 - 23 January 2020, from 15:00 to 16:00 CET Register here Right in the middle of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025), and as countries make commitments towards achieving UHC, all [...]

Accelerated Reduction Effort on Anaemia Webinar

16/10/2019 - 16 October, from 16:00 to 17:00 CEST ( 10:00-11:00 EDT) This Wednesday the Accelerated Reduction Effort on Anaemia (AREA) Community of Practice (CoP) is hosting the webinar: Universal Health [...]

Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63)

11/03/2019 - 11-22 March 2019United Nations HQ, New York (USA) The sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) will take place at the UN HQ, New York from 11 to 22 March 2019. [...]

Investing in Breastfeeding in 2019

30/01/2019 - On 30 and 31 January 2019 join a Global Breastfeeding Collective Webinar in Support of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement to be held in English, French and Spanish. Breastfeeding benefits [...]

A4NH 2017 Annual Report

05/11/2018 - The CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) 2017 Annual Report report highlights the program's accomplishments and activities during the first year of its second [...]

Leaving no one behind – making the case for adolescent girls

22/10/2018 - 22 - 23 October 2018IFAD HQ, Rome (Italy) The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Save the Children Italy are hosting an international conference entitled “Leaving [...]

Gender Health Equity Over the Life Course

08/10/2018 - Identifying and overcoming the barriers women face in accessing health systems in low-resource settings Monday, 8 October 2018 from 8.30-12.30pm in the ACC Room 12 of the Global Symposium [...]

UNSCN News 43: Advancing equity, equality and non-discrimination in food systems: Pathways to reform

01/09/2018 - Inherent barriers exist in food systems that prevent people from overcoming persistent and intergenerational malnutrition and poverty. To overcome these barriers and ensure that no one is left behind, [...]

Results 1-9 of 9

UNSCN Discussion Paper - Water and Nutrition. Harmonizing actions for the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition and the UN Water Action Decade Progress for both SDG 2 and SDG 6 has been unsatisfactory, with several indicators worsening over time, including an increase in the number of undernourished, overweight and obese people, as well…
UNSCN Discussion Paper Urban-Rural Linkages for Nutrition. Territorial approaches for sustainable development The nutrition challenges facing the world of today are daunting. One out of three people suffers from at least one form of malnutrition, and current trends suggest this may increase in the coming…
UNSCN Brief “Non-communicable diseases, diets and nutrition” Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are now the leading cause of mortality worldwide; they are responsible for 70% of global deaths; equivalent to 40 million people. The health and economic repercussions…
Guidance Note on Integration of Nutrition in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (renamed Cooperation Framework) The purpose of this Guidance Note is to assist United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) with the integration of nutrition into the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework that…
UNSCN Discussion Paper - Schools as a System to Improve Nutrition Given the changing circumstances in the nutrition landscape, there is a need to reassess and reiterate the role of the schools in improving health and nutritional status of children. This discussion…