Women's empowerment is associated with maternal and child diet diversity but not household food security in pastoral communities in Tanzania
Authors: Girard Amy Webb , Baltenweck Isabelle , Dominguez‐Salas Paula , Galie Alessandra , Harris Kristie , Jones Rebecca , Korir Luke , Raskind Ilana G. , Teufil Nils , Yount Kathyrn M 
Published: November 2023

The influence of sedentarization among pastoral communities in East Africa on the gendered control of food, milk and milk incomes is understudied. Given women's expected roles as food givers, shifts in women's time use and control over resources resulting from sedentarization may influence household food insecurity as well as individuals' diets. We examined the relationship between women's empowerment (WE), household food insecurity and maternal and child diets in rapidly sedentarizing pastoral communities in Tanzania.

From July to September 2015, we conducted a cross‐sectional survey with 373 households in Morogoro and Tanga regions. Survey‐eligible households had at least one child 6–24 months or a woman of reproductive age, and were participants in a community‐based, dairy‐for‐development project implemented by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). WE was measured using the Women's Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) based on the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index and adapted for livestock‐focused livelihoods. The WELI measures 6 domains including time use, livestock/livestock‐product‐related decision‐making, nutrition decision‐making, and access to and control over assets, opportunities, and own income. Household food insecurity was assessed with the FANTA household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS, n=372). Women's (n=300) and children's (n=95) diet diversity was measured using 24‐hour and 7‐day food recalls. Diet diversity scores (DDS) and diet diversity adequacy (DDA) were assessed using approaches recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization.

Women's mean WELI and DDS were 0.39±0.22 and 4.1±1.5, respectively. Children's mean DDS was 2.8±1.2; 27.0% and 20.4% of households were moderately or severely food insecure, respectively. In cluster‐adjusted regression analyses, a one percentage point higher WELI score was associated with higher DDSs for women (2.02 ± 0.36, P<0.001) and children (2.23±0.74, P<0.003), higher odds of DDA for women(OR [95%CI]: 2.2 [1.25, 3.78]) and children (6.3[2.78, 14.62]), and higher odds of consuming meat/eggs in the prior 7 days (women: 2.0 [1.16, 3.31]; children: 4.7 [1.86, 11.68]). WELI scores were inversely associated with volume of milk consumed in the previous 24 hours (women: −7.31±1.15mL, P <0.01; children: −1.23±0.38mL, P< 0.01) and the number of days milk was consumed in the previous 7 days (women: −0.07±0.02 days, P <0.01; children: −0.04± 0.01 days, P<0.01). WELI scores were not associated with household food insecurity.

In rapidly sedentarizing pastoral communities in Tanzania, WE was associated with better dietary diversity but not with household food security. With greater control over assets and products, more empowered women may be able to procure a wider range of quality foods for themselves and their children. Further research is needed to understand WE and its influence on decision‐making as it relates to milk consumption

Support or Funding Information

This project was supported with funding from the Competitive Research Grants to Develop Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA Grants), UK aid from the UK government (DFID) and Irish aid from the Irish government (IrishAID).