Women\u2019s education level amplifies the effects of a livelihoods-based intervention on household wealth, child diet, and child growth in rural Nepal

Laurie C Miller,Shibani Ghosh,Mahendra Lohani,Beatrice Rogers,Patrick Webb,Shubh Mahato,Neena Joshi

doi:10.1186/s12939-017-0681-0

Laurie C Miller, Shibani Ghosh + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-017-0681-0

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Abstract

BackgroundMany organizations seek to alleviate poverty in the developing world, often focusing their interventions on women. The role, status, and education of women are fundamentally important facets of development. Thus, understanding the interaction of women’s educational level and the response to interventions is important. Therefore, we examined the impact of educational level of household adults on responses to a livestock-based community intervention.MethodsSix pair-matched communities in 3 districts of Nepal (Chitwan/Nawalparasi/Nuwakot), were randomly assigned to receive community development activities via women’s self-help groups at baseline or 1 year later. At 6 intervals over 48 months, a 125- item questionnaire addressing family demographics and child health/nutrition was completed in each household, plus child growth monitoring. Results were analyzed in relation to the highest education attained by any woman in the household, the child’s mother, men, or any other adult in the household.ResultsOutcomes (wealth, water/toilet availability, child diet diversity and growth) all significantly related to adult education. However, notable differences were found comparing the impact of men’s and women’s education. Percent change in wealth score was significant only in households where women had primary or secondary education (respectively, p = .0009 and p < .0001). Increased soap use related only to women’s education (p < .0001). When adjusted for group assignment, baseline income, wealth, and animal scores, higher women’s education was significantly associated with increased household wealth (p < .0001), better child height-for-age z scores (HAZ, p = .005), and improved child diet diversity (p = .01). Higher mother’s education predicted better child HAZ (primary, p = .01, secondary, p = .03) and diet diversity (primary, p = .05, secondary, p < .0001). Higher men’s education was significantly associated with household wealth (p = .02) and child diet diversity (p = .04), but not HAZ; higher education of any household member was associated only with household wealth (p < .0001). Moreover, households where the mother’s education was better than the best-educated man also were significantly more likely to have children with better HAZ and dietary diversity (p = .03, p < .0001). Thus, the educational level of women and mothers had the broadest impact on child outcome variables.ConclusionsHousehold characteristics vary among participants in most community development projects. Of these, adult education likely mediates response to the inputs provided by the intervention. Particularly in interventions directed towards women, better education may enhance the ability of households to put interventions into practice, thus improving wealth, hygiene, and child diet and growth indices.

Highlights

Many organizations seek to alleviate poverty in the developing world, often focusing their interventions on women
The intervention was implemented by Heifer International, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) which seeks to eliminate poverty via livestock-based community development programs
Services and inputs are provided to targeted communities at the request of local NGOs, which interact with Village Development Committees (VDCs)

Summary

Introduction

Many organizations seek to alleviate poverty in the developing world, often focusing their interventions on women. Integrated, multi-sectoral approaches to poverty in the developing world, more complicated to implement, are more likely to result in sustained improvement in household and individual economic status than programs with a single focus Such strategies have been the basis for many programs which seek to link agriculturebased interventions, household wealth, and child nutrition outcomes [1,2,3,4]. Improved socioeconomic status could improve nutritional status by creating a healthier environment (with more access to medical care, clean water, and sanitation [2, 6, 9,10,11]) or more diverse diet [12], increased household income may not always be directed toward child health needs or providing optimal foods for children [3] Some of these differences may be explained by gender empowerment, behavior change (at the community and household level), and control over household resources

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