Page 17 - University of Pretoria Research Review 2017

Foreword
Introductory Messages
DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE
Food Security
Mainstreaming gender in development policy
Elizabeth Mkandawire, Institute for Food, Nutrition and Well-being
PEOPLE AND CONTEXTS
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
PLANET AND SUSTAINABILITY
Awards
Lead Researchers
15
One of the critical challenges in development policies is accurately to reflect gendered practices, particularly in rural communities, and thereby to challenge conventional wisdom about the respective roles of men and women most often excluded or at a distance from policy formulation processes.
The tendency in development policies is to entrench traditional gendered roles, especially with respect to childcare practices. Yet, far greater progress has been achieved in some instances than what is reflected in development policies.
This insight was borne out in a recent review of Malawi’s Draft National Nutrition Policy 2016–2020. As part of the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy, PhD student Elizabeth Mkandawire and her supervisor, Professor Sheryl Hendriks, reviewed the draft policy, identifying that it was ‘gender blind’,
by focussing on women as the key gatekeepers in child nutrition. Yet, their engagement with a community
in rural Central Malawi established that men play a
vital role as caretakers, and in providing support to women during pregnancy. This role includes obtaining nutritious food for pregnant women, caring for children, and helping with household chores.
By bringing members of the community together
with policymakers from the Malawian Department
of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS, a platform for dialogue
was created, as well as an opportunity for authentic interaction between policymakers and community members. The focus of the interaction was on how best to embrace a truly gendered approach in the National Nutrition Policy. In the process, community members were able to influence the final iteration of the policy, and policymakers had the opportunity to broaden
their understanding of changing gender dynamics at community level.
Research undertaken in this community, and the engagement between the policymakers, members of the community and researchers, has directly informed the revision of the draft policy. Recommendations from the policy dialogue were shared in the form of a policy brief with the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, and the Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS.
The work will be published in the journal, Biomedical Central Pregnancy and Childbirth and Development Policy Review, and was reported on in two Conversation Africa articles in 2017.
Elizabeth Mkandawire and Sheryl Hendriks