Nutritional status of women and its Influence on Agro-ecosystems in Rural Areas of Tanzania

Abstract

Performance of rural women in various agro-ecosystems is reflected and affected by their nutritional status. Rural women are heavily involved in crop and livestock production, household chores and biological reproduction. Secondary information on nutritional status of women as influenced by agro-ecosystems was obtained from published and unpublished literature. The review revealed that there are more than 10 different agro-ecosystems in Tanzania, which are closely linked to social economic status of the population deriving their livelihood from these systems. Gender roles are clearly differentiated between girls, boys, men and women but determined by household structure, size, culture and customs based on ethnicity. Women are responsible for about 75% of food production but are challenged by a number of health problems for instance the anaemia (53%) and night blindness (4%). About 15% of women are overweight, 6% obese and 13% are underweight. Environmental challenges facing women include climate variability, land and water scarcity. Some interventions undertaken to address challenges include time saving technologies, improving reproductive and child health and other health related interventions. However, many of the interventions focused on women only and had limited integration into the livelihood systems of households and communities. Understanding of gender roles in agro-ecosystems and nutrition is very low. Thus, further research is needed to investigate on the impact of integrating men and women’s roles on nutritional status of households and community members. Furthermore, it is not clear as to what extent men’s involvement in gender issues would improve the social, economic and nutrition status of women in society.