Sharif Hossen Saimum’s Post

Malnutrition, especially in children, persists among ethnic minorities in the mountainous regions of South-East Asia. Empowering women in these local communities is seen as a means to improve nutrition. However, the question arises; how are women truly empowered? Although encouraging women to participate in agricultural initiatives can increase food security, it often necessitates trade-offs in child-rearing, sanitation efforts, and household incomes.   To better understand what empowerment truly means in this context, researchers from Laos and the Athena Institute conducted interviews and focus groups with community members, project implementers, senior program managers, and advisors in Nong, Laos. In their recently published article, they shared the results and highlight the following: 🔹 Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture initiatives improve food security but also increased women’s workloads. 🔹 Consequently, community members did not perceive these initiatives as empowering for local women. 🔹 Including local stakeholders, especially women's groups, in participatory action research helps to embed contextual factors into conceptualisations of empowerment, improving the chances that initiatives empower women and enhance community health. Read and download the #openaccess article, by Manon G., Daniëlle Bon, Bounthanom Bouahom, Jacqueline Broerse, and Dirk Essink, 𝗗𝗼 𝗪𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗡𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗟𝗮𝗼𝘀 below. https://lnkd.in/eWgQ8sMW #womensempowerment #malnutrition #globalhealth #PAR

Inua Capital is proud to support Forna Health Foods Limited (a.k.a Aunt Porridge) as one of our first investments in our GLI impact fund. Forna Health Foods Limited encapsulates the types of SMEs that we look to support and bring to the fore: it is a manufacturer of Aunt Porridge and Instapo!, healthy, nutritious (and delicious!) porridges that are targeted at helping weaning infants, growing children, breastfeeding mothers, immune-compromised patients (and even the entire family) access essential nutrition to thrive when they need it the most! Forna Health Foods Limited is a female-founded and female-led company that intentionally hires and trains women (65% of their workforce) and intentionally focuses on mothers and children as their core customer. Not to mention, Forna Health Foods Limited is a social business that provides pro-bono daily in-person, online and phone information and nutritional support services to its customers, works with mothers and clinics to help children that are failing to thrive, and is looking to support the fight against malnutrition (such as in refugee hosting areas). Beyond porridge, they sell a holistic solution. Above all, this essential breakfast staple and its 10+ ingredients are all-natural (no added preservatives), homegrown here in Uganda (providing a market for 1,000s of smallholder Ugandan farmers) and are jam-packed with protein, vitamins and fibre (unlike single grain porridges made from only millet or maize) to boost infant and child nutrition. Uganda needs more companies like Forna Health Foods Limited. Angella Nabweteme, Forna’s founder, is a female entrepreneur worth supporting, and we are privileged to partner with her on Forna’s growth journey and her passion to bring Aunt Porridge to every Ugandan family! Check out www.auntporridge.com today!   Angella Nabs, Hilary Bainemigisha, Dorcas Naome Nabirye, Michelle Mboha, Kim Kamarebe, Caroline Wamanga, Masiko N., Edith Namusoke, David Munnich, Prevost Kla, Yacine Simporé, Hugues Vincent-Genod, Dennis Otieno Onyango, Investisseurs & Partenaires - I&P, Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, EDFI AgriFI - The Agriculture Financing Initiative, 2X Global, Living Goods, Partners in Food Solutions, USAID Feed the Future Uganda Strategic Investments Activity (SIA)

💡 What happens when female farmers gain access to reliable healthcare? It’s more than just good health—it’s economic empowerment! Through the Kaduna Women Economic Empowerment Project, funded by Bayer Foundation, we’re seeing the powerful link between health and prosperity for women in agriculture. Thanks to the supply chain efforts of Advantage Pharmaceutical Limited (one of our business arms), in partnership with Healthy Entrepreneurs Nigeria (a joint venture we formed with Healthy Entrepreneurs), female farmers are receiving high-quality medications right on time, at affordable prices, with guidance from health experts. Read our latest article to see how this partnership is making a difference in Kaduna and shaping the future of female farmers. 👇 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dc5aP6TF #HealthcareAccess #KadunaWEEProject #EconomicEmpowerment #WomenInAgriculture

The World Bank's recent publication is now public and offers numerous takeaways to address the root causes of mental and physical health at an early stage. Investments in scaling up high-impact nutrition interventions could avert 6.2 million deaths among children under age five and 980,000 stillbirths over the next decade, generating significant economic benefits. These nutrition programs would also prevent 27 million cases of child stunting and 144 million cases of maternal anemia. Additionally, the scale-up of nutrition interventions is estimated to generate $2.4 trillion in economic benefits. For every dollar invested in addressing undernutrition, a return of $23 is expected. These economic gains far outweigh the costs of inaction, which are estimated at around $41 trillion over 10 years. #humancapital #investearly

See how iDE (International Development Enterprises) is engaging in markets to improve diets for young children in Ethiopia. By supporting women entrepreneurs, we seek to create outsized impacts in communities to tackle the burden of malnutrition. https://lnkd.in/gzqtVnHR

How can we transform global nutrition for a healthier future? Despite strides made over the decades, #child malnutrition remains alarmingly high, and #obesity rates are climbing worldwide. The new The World Bank 2024 Investment Framework for Nutrition proposes a roadmap for change, offering evidence-based, cost-effective interventions to save millions of lives and generate economic benefits of up to $2.4 trillion. By scaling up high-impact nutrition programs, we can avert child stunting, maternal anemia, and stillbirths—while addressing both undernutrition and obesity. Achieving this will require an additional $13 billion annually over the next decade, particularly in low- and middle-income regions. But the potential return? A staggering $23 for every dollar invested, outweighing the costs of inaction. From innovative financing models like taxes on unhealthy foods to repurposing agrifood subsidies, these solutions are critical to building healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3zZaOtb #FoodCanFixIt

A new report by the Farm Journal Foundation underscores the vulnerability of low and middle-income countries to #ClimateShocks, which severely impact global #foodsecurity and #nutrition (source: https://lnkd.in/dGNWMCf2). 1.23 billion people are employed in the food system, mostly in production agriculture, supporting 3.83 billion family members. In Africa and Asia, for example, 62.1% and 40.2% of employment respectively is within the food system. The stakes are high. The report also highlights the gendered nature of #FoodSystems. Women, who make up 66% of the food system workforce in Sub-Saharan Africa and 71% in Southeast Asia, face significant disadvantages, including reduced access to land, capital and resources. This inequality extends even to the US, where women-run farms earn only $1 for every $2.50 earned by male-run farms. As Royce Wiryohandjojo, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)’s Workforce Nutrition Global Project Manager, said, “Strengthening food systems through targeted nutrition programmes, particularly those that empower women, is essential for immediate health outcomes and for building long-term resilience against climate shocks. Our focus at the Workforce Nutrition Alliance is on empowering employers to support their workforce with the nutrition they need, which in turn helps to stabilize communities and improve overall productivity.” Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gdMbx2Y

Menstrual Hygiene And Health Management In Uganda

We have had #ENOUGH of malnutrition. Time for action and dialogue ahead of the 2025 #N4G in France with those most affected #nutritiondialogues And as a talking point? For every $1 invested in tackling malnutrition, we get $23 back. Investments to scale up high-impact nutrition interventions could avert 6.2 million deaths in children under age five and 980,000 stillbirths over the next decade and generate enormous economic benefit. Check out new The World Bank Investment Framework for cost-effective, evidence-based investments and policy recommendations to ensure there is #ENOUGH for every child.

✅ Most often, livelihood programmes are designed considering women as important agents for promoting sustainable food production, enhancing household food security and protecting the environment. However, it was realised that programmes leading to progress in economic empowerment in a woman’s life through more access to livelihood opportunities do not automatically translate into her greater capacity to make choices and transform power relations in another area of her life (e.g. entitlement to an adequate and nutritious diet). ✅ More than 1 billion women and girls around the world do not have access to healthy diets, and micronutrient deficiencies among adolescents and women remain very high. Although food security has long been recognised as critical for ensuring an individual’s adequate dietary intake, social and cultural factors related to gender roles and women’s status in households, communities and societies are increasingly considered in programmes aiming for addressing gender inequality in nutrition security and improving nutrition outcomes for women and adolescent girls in resource constraint settings. ✅ This realisation leads current livelihood programmes to adopt gender-sensitive holistic approach that aim to empower women economically on the one hand and secure their nutritional wellbeing on the other. ✅ Homestead nutri garden along with livestock interventions is considered to be one of the potential pathways towards enhancing women’s empowerment in nutrition. If enhancing food security and improving nutrition outcomes are critical for wellbeing and empowerment of women, it is important not only to identify and address the constraints women face in securing nutrition but also to strengthen pathways towards empowering women in achieving these goals. #poshanmaah #nutritionsecurity #nutrisensitiveagriculture #genderfornutrition