Peer-reviewed article
The association between women’s empowerment in agriculture and child stunting in Malawi
Eileen Bogweh Nchanji, Kelvin Kariuki Kamunye, Odhiambo Collins Ageyo, Yvonne Uwase Munyangeri, Mercy Mutua et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how women's empowerment in agriculture relates to child stunting in Malawi among 847 children aged 6-59 months and their mothers. Researchers found that women's ownership of land and other assets was associated with lower stunting rates, but interestingly, higher self-efficacy was linked to slightly higher stunting. The study suggests that women's empowerment programmes should combine nutrition-focused interventions with education and address practical aspects like asset security and workload management to improve child nutrition outcomes.
Key points
- Women's land and asset ownership reduced probability of stunting by 14.7 percentage points
- Adequacy in self-efficacy was associated with 1.7 percentage point higher probability of stunting
- Mother's marital status was associated with 15.9 percentage point reduction in stunting
- Mother's schooling reduced stunting probability by 1.3 percentage points
- Programmes should bundle nutrition-sensitive interventions with women's empowerment and address asset security and workload management
Limitations
The study uses a case-control design which can establish associations but not causality; the cross-sectional nature limits understanding of whether empowerment leads to better nutrition or other factors drive both outcomes. The findings are specific to three districts in Malawi and may not generalise to other contexts.
Abstract
Although empowering women in agriculture is identified as a potential pathway for addressing high prevalence of malnutrition in Malawi, evidence on the association between empowerment and child nutrition remains limited. The study assessed the association between women’s empowerment and child stunting in three districts of Malawi. Data were collected using a case-control design from 847 children aged 6–59 months and their mothers. Empowerment was measured using the project-level Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index, while data on child stunting were collected using anthropometric measurements. Logistic regression results showed that adequacy in self-efficacy was associated with a 1.7% point higher probability of stunting, while ownership of land and other assets reduced probability of stunting by 14.7% points. Mother’s marital status and schooling were associated with 15.9 and 1.3 lower percentage points of stunting, while child’s age increased percentage points of stunting by 0.7. The findings suggest the need for women’s empowerment programs to bundle nutrition-sensitive interventions and education to contribute to improved child nutrition. Actionable gender components such as asset security, workload management, and decision-spaces are also recommended.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Women's empowerment in agriculture, measured through the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index with focus on self-efficacy, asset ownership, and decision-making
- Population
- 847 children aged 6-59 months and their mothers in three districts of Malawi
Key finding
Land and asset ownership reduced stunting probability by 14.7 percentage points