Pathways from Women's Group-Based Programs to Nutrition Change in South Asia
In a meta-analysis spanning eight countries in South Asia, Kumar et al. (2018) looked at how women’s groups improve nutrition outcomes for women and children. They summarized 36 studies reporting on 24 nutritional indicators across infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF), intake/diet and anthropometric outcomes such as body mass index (BMI), stunting, wasting and underweight levels. They found that women’s groups have potential for improving maternal and child nutrition outcomes. Programs with specific nutrition goals and linked activities such as nutrition behavior change are more likely to impact nutrition. Microfinance and livelihoods SHG-based programs that address behavior change were mentioned, particularly regarding IYCF. The study also mentions the importance of fostering social capital, women’s empowerment and collective action to maximize impacts. It is not enough to just form the women’s groups without layering in contextually appropriate behavior change communication to improve health and nutrition awareness and knowledge. There were a number of null findings among the literature reviewed and the authors attributed that to a combination of program and implementation limitations. Programs may have lacked the reach and duration to achieve impact, the nutritionally vulnerable age groups may not have been targeted, or programs evaluated for nutrition impacts did not have nutrition-specific components layered in.