shelter and housing, consumer science, household
management, design and technology, food science andhospitality, human development and family studies, educationand community services. Home Economists address theinterrelationship of sustainability and human/civil rights andshare a concern for vulnerable audiences.

ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR ALL:A HOME ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVE
THE 2030 AGENDA for Sustainable Development provides
a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and theplanet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17
Sustainable Development Goals, which are an urgent call foraction by all countries in a global partnership. They recognisethat ending poverty and other deprivations is inextricably linked
with strategies that improve health and education, reduce
inequality, and spur economic growth while tackling climatechange and working to preserve our nature.

HOME ECONOMICS brings the focus of households asbuilding blocks of sustainable societies. Addressing complex
interrelated human and environmental problems, it aims atachieving optimal and sustainable living conditions forindividuals, families and their communities while acknowledging
their global interdependence.
Home Economics is a field of study and a profession, situatedin the human sciences. It is also known as Family & Consumer
Sciences or Human Ecology. It follows an integrated approachand draws from a disciplinary diversity which might include,
among others: food, nutrition, health, textiles and clothing,Home Economists worldwide work as scientists andpractitioners. They foster new knowledge through research andempower families and their communities to develop thecapacity for agency. Home Economists promote positive
systemic actions that improve the quality of life and represent
the integrated, multi-level approach that is core to achieving theSustainable Development Goals.

CONTRIBUTION TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Home Economics is considered as the original field of research
focusing on economic, social and ecological aspects ofeveryday living, which includes responsible use of resources.
Home Economics also addresses the impact of food, health,economic, environmental, and human/political systems on thestatus of individuals, families, and communities. Its capacity todraw from a disciplinary diversity allows for the development ofspecific interpretations of important UN Sustainable
Development Goals:

No Poverty: End Poverty in all its Forms
everywhere
Poverty is more than the lack of income andresources. A household’s economic and social
status is also determined by the relation
between its members and free access to allsocial-economic opportunities.
Home Economists act as advisors to governments andcommunities because they are experts in what is needed toimprove the quality of life for households and families. On apractical level, Home Economics aims to best satisfy the needsof household members with the available resources. Educationin Home Economics competencies offers an important
contribution to reducing poverty and alleviating poverty related
circumstances of life. This especially refers to women who areusually heads of households and other vulnerable groups.
Home Economics Education often focuses on sustainable foodproduction. Heads of households are trained in healthynutrition and efficient cooking to improve their situation but
also learn about hygienic behaviour, maternal and family
health. Education in everyday life management also includes
aspects that help to overcome poverty such as the importanceof education for girls and boys and alternative ways of income
generation.
Home Economics education often aims at financial literacy.
As debt counsellors and family advisers, Home Economics
professionals show ways out of indebtedness, support families

to sustainably manage their financial resources and thus
address the important aspect of social exclusion.
This includes low-priced, healthy nutrition; sustainable, costreducing consumption of water and energy or new ways ofsustainable consumption (“sharing economy”). Improving theaccess of families and households to sustainable livelihoods,
entrepreneurial opportunities and production resources,
especially for women, will help to eradicate poverty.

Zero Hunger
The aim of ending hunger and all forms of
malnutrition is closely related to a micro-level
household perspective. Food production andfood consumption are closely interlinked andhouseholds are basic entities of societies andeconomies, where members take decisions
regarding their consumption choices and behaviour andlivelihood strategies.
Women are still mainly responsible for the household tasks ofprocuring and preparing food, and for the related tasks offetching water and wood or other fuels for preparing food. Theirlimited decision-making power and the unequal allocation ofresources and division of workloads negatively impact on thefood and nutrition situation of all household members in many
parts of the world. Addressing structural conditions of hunger
and food and nutrition insecurity such as unequal access toland and other resources directly benefits the food and nutrition
situation of households, as women produce more food thanmen for household consumption.

Home Economics Education addresses the interlinkages
between food production and food consumption by promotingsustainable production and consumption patterns for moresustainable diets – the key content of Sustainable Development
Goal 12. This includes addressing the double burden ofmalnutrition, as evident in the alarming prevalence ofoverweight and obesity in children and adults; resulting in huge
public health costs. Furthermore, there is an urgent need toteach pre-school and school children and adolescents, as wellas their parents and other care givers, about food preparationand healthy eating patterns, recognising that lifestyles arechanging and that this information and advice need to be basedon the everyday realities of people.
Home Economists are conducting research and projects aroundthe world to reduce and prevent hunger and malnutrition. Home
Economics professionals are educating especially women insustainable food production and alternative ways of income
generation which benefits household food and nutrition security.
Training is provided on healthy nutrition, efficient cooking andthe need to send children to school. Home Economist
professionals are further working on research and education
programmes for financial literacy to avoid that families become
indebted. They also provide counselling for families to find ways
out of poverty and actively support those families that facesocial exclusion.
At a policy level, Home Economics recommends to integrate
the subject in curricula and making this education available toboth sexes, to recognise and value unpaid work; to procure
locally sourced and sustainably produced food, both in theprivate and institutional household.

Home Economics as a profession aims at overcoming genderstereotypes with regard to household-related tasks,
encouraging all members to equally engage in foodprocurement and food preparation – promoting these as
modern, positive, productive tasks that enhance everyone’swell-being.
Global Health and Well-being: Ensure healthy Lives andpromote Well-being for All at all Ages
Health problems pose a huge challenge forhouseholds whose members are affected,
deprive households of economic and social
resources and impede development. Significant
strides have been made in increasing life
expectancy, reducing some of the common
killers associated with child and maternal mortality anderadicating diseases. But especially vulnerable groups such as
rural women face multi-faceted health issues. They often lackhealth education, sanitation and hygiene facilities and are
exposed to ambient pollution (air pollutants in households andfarming).
Home Economics aims to improve well-being and increase thequality of life for members of private and institutional
households. Health related Home Economics researchcontributes to achieving good health from many angles. Healthrelated research on Food Security and Nutrition sets thefocus on the relation between health and malnutrition, foodallergies, the influence of healthy nutrition to longevity or
healthy diets.

Household Technology research contributes to thedevelopment of secure household devices and clean cookstoves; helping to reduce sickness and death through toxic
smoke. Research in Hygiene supports private and institutional
households (e.g. hospitals, care homes) to avoid infections andimprove cleaning processes and food processing with specificattention to vulnerable groups like children, elder people or
hospitalised persons. Research in Textiles and household
technology includes textiles used in kitchens, bathrooms, toilets
and for medical treatments and develops special textiles andwashing processes, aiming to reduce infections throughcontaminated textiles. Finally, research in Home Economics
Education helps to improve methods for capacity building andto better educate household members and impart knowledge
on hygiene behaviour.
Practical Home Economics Education plays an important rolein improving health and avoiding infectious diseases. Trained inbasic Home Economics, heads of household can avoid healthrisks by respecting basic hygienic behaviour (hand washing,food processing, cleaning) and by learning about safe
alternatives to hazardous pesticides or unhealthy cooking
stoves.
In institutional households, Home Economics professionalsensure health and well-being of people, who are not able totake care for themselves. Home Economists follow a balanced
approach to increase well-being for all household members, notonly taking into account health related aspects but also thepsychological and social aspects.

Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Womenand Girls
Gender equality is not only a fundamental
human right, but a necessary foundation for apeaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Gender equality and empowerment of womenand girls start at home. Gender equality ineducation or employment can only be achieved,
if behaviour and values are nurtured and shared amonghousehold members and then confidently pursued beyond.
From a Home Economics perspective, the relationship between
household members, the division of work, allocation ofresources, decision-making and roles attributed to women are
essential factors to reach gender equality. This also means
including men and their changing identities into research andaction. The vast majority of our field’s addressees are women,
Home Economists therefore advocate for gender equality indifferent areas:
Unpaid and Domestic Work – Relieve Workload of Women.
Home Economics research on household management showsthat globally, the major part of unpaid work at home is done bywomen and includes care for other household members. If
women participate in paid work, they are overrepresented in
low paid work and receive less than men. To relieve womenfrom household and care work, Home Economists demand arethink of gender roles including more active involvement ofmen and other household members, and government support
structures to enable this.

Equal Rights for Men and Women – Access to Resources,
Land and Leadership. Women who bear the main household
workload, care for other household members or generatehousehold income need equal rights. They need full access toand control over land, economic and natural resources,financial services or inheritance. Home Economics extension
programs include education on land or water management.
No Violence against Women and Girls at Home. Violence
often starts at home, in families and communities and isaffected by culture and traditions. Home Economists
understand the household as a place where its members basic
needs are met and therefore advocate for protection andsecurity for women and girls and the establishment ofprotection services for women in rural areas.
Home Economics Education to advance Gender Education.
Women must have access to high-quality education at alllevels. At household level, Home Economics knowledge
enables both men and women to improve the situation forthemselves and their family members. This includes the needfor food security and health but also spans the important
aspects as financial literacy and the use of information andcommunication technology to ensure participation in theinformation society.

Clean Water and Sanitation: Ensure Availability
and sustainable Management of Water andSanitation for All
Water, food and energy topics are inextricably
linked. Water scarcity, poor water quality andinadequate sanitation negatively impact foodsecurity, livelihood choices and educational
opportunities for poor families across the world.
Home Economics is a multi-disciplinary field and follows anintegrated approach: Water may be perceived as a local good,but our field also considers the global implications local
household activities and consumption have. Water related
behaviour and hygiene standards are core element of HomeEconomics knowledge for private and institutional households.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. A central Home Economics
subject is the impact of hygienic behaviour on health, thus
ensuring access to safe drinking water and breaking the vicious
circle of disease and malnutrition. We also advocate foradequate sanitation including handwashing facilities and toilets
that guarantee privacy especially for women and girls.
Water Quality. Home Economics research provides new
knowledge in sustainable waste management at community
level or in extension services. Adequate education how tohandle human waste avoids water pollution. On the consumerside, Home Economics can influence individual consumption
behaviour, offering alternatives to the harmful use of plasticbags, dumping of medicine or use of personal care productswith micro particles.

Water Use Efficiency. Household Technology experts adviseon the production or use of water efficient appliances andHome Economics Education fosters locally appropriate
sustainable water consumption (e.g. rain water harvesting).
With food waste being one reason for water waste, HomeEconomists advocate for regulations allowing to sell“misshaped” fruits and vegetables, advise cities and local
governments to recycle food waste and inform consumers how
to prevent food waste.
Integrated Water Resource Management. Home Economics
Education uses the concept of virtual water (water embedded inconsumer products and production processes) to fosterreflection on the individual water footprint and change
consumption behaviour. It also fosters local community
participation, including private households as water consumers
into the municipal planning processes of water and wastewater
management
Water-related Ecosystems. Household Technology researchand Home Economics Education and training contribute todecreasing the use of wood and to establishing renewableenergy sources for household cooking. Training in sustainable
farming methods helps protecting rivers and groundwater from
pollution.

Responsible Production and Consumption:
Ensure sustainable Consumption and Production
Patterns
Individual consumption affects the economy of ahousehold and its members and has direct
impact on the wider social, economic andecological living environment. Home Economics
is concerned with how individual behaviour,priorities and choices shapes future living athousehold level, in local communities and on a globallyinterdependent planet. It considers consumers as decision
makers whose interactions have an impact and who hold theirshare of responsibility for a sustainable lifestyle.
Home Economists endorse the concept that people should not
only change their personal lifestyles, but also come to practiceactivities in their communities, and thus promote and support
transformation towards sustainability at a global scale.
Home Economics research aims to create new knowledge andinnovative approaches to improve sustainable consumption.
Prominent areas of scientific interest are e.g. food waste, thesustainable production of textiles or energy efficient cooking.
To improve framework conditions for sustainable consumption,
Home Economists advocate for the inclusion of household
needs in all planning processes. They also promote theintegration of Home Economics Education on all educationlevels to increase knowledge about the global impact ofindividual consumer behaviour.

Institutional households such as universities or hospitals areencouraged to implement sustainable consumption andproduction ethics within their area of responsibility and among
their staff.
Home Economics practice focuses on consumer education.
To perceive everyone as a consumer does not mean people
know how to consume in a sustainable way. Therefore, Home
Economics consumer education includes practical advice andexercises how to behave and act in a sustainable way. This
could refer to reduction of household waste or the sustainable
management of household resources (e.g. water, energy,cooking fuel). Changing consumer behaviour also includes
conscious decisions on the buying of textiles (thus influencing
sustainable production and working conditions in the sector) or
information on new models of consumption such as car sharing,urban gardening or eco-sensitive housing.

THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HOME
ECONOMICS (IFHE) is an International NGO that unites
Home Economists worldwide who share a global, professional
commitment to achieve a sustainable living for individuals,
households and communities.
The federation was founded in 1908 and attracts individuals
and organisations from 60 countries, each working at their local
and national level. Since over 110 years, it thrives on thecommitment of its predominantly female members and is led byan internationally balanced leadership team. The IFHE provides
networking opportunities, publishes a refereed E-journal andorganises World Congresses with over 1,000 participants,among others.
In 1981, the federation was given consultative status with theUN and later with FAO and UNESCO. It actively supports theUN initiatives Zero Hunger Challenge and Clean Cooking
Alliance and is member of an NGO network advising WHO. On
its own and with partners, the International Federation for Home
Economics advocates for Home Economics to contribute to asustainable future for all.
© Copyright 2019:
International Federation for Home Economics IFHE
Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße 13 Ι 53113 Bonn Ι Germany
office@ifhe.org / www.ifhe.org
Find single SDG Statements with references at the IFHE Website. All rightsreserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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