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Health

Breakthroughs in women’s empowerment: Decision-making power of women in microfinance and financial self-help groups in Jharkhand and West Bengal

This research brief presents results from a series of “Health Diaries”—or frequent surveyor-administered surveys—conducted with 45 women in West Bengal and Jharkhand, India to uncover how low-income women prepare for, cover, and recover from health costs and focuses specifically on household decision-making behaviors and gender dynamics within the household.

Breakthroughs for Healthy Birth: What “Health Diaries” tell us about financial and medical preparation for giving birth among women in West Bengal and Jharkhand

This research brief will present results from a series of “Health Diaries”—or frequent surveyor-administered surveys—conducted with 45 women in West Bengal and Jharkhand, India to uncover how low-income women prepare for and experience childbirth and its associated costs.

Breakthroughs in Affordable Health Care: What ‘Health Diaries’ tell us about managing health care and costs among women in West Bengal and Jharkhand

This research brief presents results from a series of “Health Diaries” — or frequent surveyor-administered surveys — conducted with 45 women in West Bengal and Jharkhand, India and focuses on key findings related to treatment seeking behavior, access to services and insurance, how out-of-pocket costs are managed and who makes the decisions in the household regarding health care and how to pay for it.

Healthy Mothers Make Healthy Communities: Research Brief

In 2017, the Maa aur Shishu Swasthya (Mother and Child Health) Program, implemented across West Bengal with a key financial service partner, Aikyatan Development Society (ADS), focused on improving knowledge and behaviors related to pregnancy and childbirth. This research brief outlines the results from a pre- and post-test assessment with women’s self-help groups to determine the effectiveness of Pictorial Learning Conversations in improving knowledge and behaviors related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Pro-WEAI Baseline Results from the initiative Building the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Burkina Faso (BRB)

This report documents a quantitative assessment completed as part of a pilot test of the pro-WEAI for the “Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project – Phase 2” (GAAP2) project led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) was launched by IFPRI, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and USAID’s Feed the Future program in February 2012 and was the first comprehensive standardized measure to capture women’s empowerment and inclusion in the agricultural sector.

Building Resilience in Burkina Faso: Impact Study Endline Results

Building Resilience in Burkina Faso (BRB) takes a multi-sectoral approach to improving household resilience and food security and features the innovative use of community-based women’s savings groups as a platform for providing an integrated package of agricultural, nutrition, financial services, and women’s empowerment programming to help thousands of savings group members overcome many of the geographic, cultural, social, and economic constraints that hamper their resilience in the face of shocks and disasters.

Understanding Gender Norms in Rural Burkina Faso: A Qualitative Assessment

This report documents a series of qualitative assessments completed as part of a pilot test of the Pro-WEAI for the “Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project – Phase 2” (GAAP2) project led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) was launched by IFPRI, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and USAID’s Feed the Future program in February 2012 and was the first comprehensive standardized measure to capture women’s empowerment and inclusion in the agricultural sector.

Nutrition at the Center: Client Outcomes of the Rajasthan Nutrition Project

This report documents the final client outcomes from a pre-/post-test assessment completed during the Rajasthan Nutrition Project (RNP). RNP’s goal was to improve household nutrition, particularly among pregnant and lactating women and children, and aimed specifically improve breastfeeding rates, use of ORS to treat diarrhea, linkages to local health services and household food security. The results suggest that all targets were met, if not exceeded. Gender dynamics, as measured by mobility and decision-making power, also improved during the project period.

Factors Associated with Accessing Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme Among Women in Rural Rajasthan, India

The purpose of this study was to assess the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme centre usage among women in rural Rajasthan and characteristics of households accessing these centres. The findings suggest that in rural Rajasthan, the majority of individuals access ICDS centres, especially supplementary food services. While supplementary food services can be effective in reducing childhood undernutrition, ICDS services in this region may consider increasing focus on other cost-effective and underutilized services, including breastfeeding education.

Who Breastfeeds Among Women Living in Tribal Communities in Rural Rajasthan, India?

While breastfeeding is culturally accepted in India, exclusive breastfeeding rates remain low, especially as the infant increases in age. This paper, developed using baseline data from the Rajasthan Nutrition Project, assesses the factors that influence whether women breastfeed initially and exclusively for six months. Findings from this paper suggest that breastfeeding rates are suboptimal, possibly as a result of food insecurity, financial status, and autonomy.

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