Gender and Development

Indonesia: Gender Specific Approaches on Urban Nutrition

Background & Rationale

Expected Outcome

The main objective of the project is to study the linkages between women's well-being and their socio-economic capabilities in relation to over- and under-nutrition. Activities undertaken during the study provided inputs to the baseline information on food consumption among urban poor households. These included

• conducting gender analysis associated with under- and over nutrition, with focus on “risk” groups in selected urban areas
• identifying strategies for mainstreaming gender in the project preparatory technical assistant (PPTA)
• proposing gender-specific communication approaches to address those who are under- and overweight among the urban poor
• drafting a strategy paper on gender-specific issues in nutrition, to be presented during the national technical assistance final review workshop

Results to Date

Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and observations were among the methodologies used to explore the problems. Subjects for the study were 45 households with children less than 5 years of age, nine pregnant mothers, adolescent girls, volunteer health workers, midwives and nutritionists, and squatter households. The qualitative study specifically determined causal relationships between child and maternal nutrition, low birth weight, child feeding and child care practices, use of breast milk substitutes in poor households, decision-making patterns in households and child feeding patterns, and childcare practices and habits including food taboos. Findings of the study revealed the following gender-related issues:

• Income insecurity faced by the urban poor has encouraged mothers to participate in income-earning activities, leaving them little time to prepare food and with low income limit food choices.
• Many childcare practices, including taboos on breastfeeding and diet, were still practiced by mothers due to lack of knowledge and social pressure.
• Despite the availability and accessibility of health care services, utilization was not optimal due to their poor quality. Posyandu (integrated health posts) activities were limited to weighing and immunization of babies, while the potential for creating mothers’ awareness of the importance of childcare and nutrition was not emphasized.
• Health and nutrition messages aired on TV did not reach the target audience due to inappropriate timing and programs.

Based on the survey findings, the following programs were recommended:

• Programs to mainstream gender in laws and regulations on the provision of maternity leave, and enforcement of regulations on formula milk industries;
• Programs to improve the health care system and health service performance through improved antenatal care, supporting initiatives for puskesmas (public health service centers) and posyandu activities, and commitment from health staff personnel.
• Programs to improve family livelihood by encouraging home-based income-generating activities for breastfeeding mothers.
• Programs to improve women’s knowledge about health and nutrition, such as information awareness for young mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding, and integrating this with health/nutrition education programs for adolescent girls in school.
• Programs to improve exposure of women and families to health and nutrition messages through media.
• Involvement of the private sector, to produce nutritious and affordable food for the poor.