This paper examines promising approachesfrom a wide array of literatures to improve gender-inclusivenutrition interventions in South Asia. It is the second of aseries on gender and nutrition in South Asia. The firstpaper explored why gender matters for undernutrition in theregion and conducted a mapping of regional nutritioninitiatives to find that gender is too narrowly addressed inmost programs if at all. Adequately addressing gender2requires nutrition programs to focus not only on healthservices and information for the mother and her children,but also on her autonomy and the support she receives fromher partner, other household members, and the broadercommunity. This focus is especially important for adolescentmothers in the region, who have very low status. The presentstudy drew from the conceptual framework of the previouspaper and investigated four types of innovations innutrition initiatives that address gender. These entailpromoting: (1) women s household autonomy; (2) householdsupport for the woman and her own and her children snutrition; (3) community support for the woman and her ownand her children s nutrition; and (4) help for adolescentgirls. Though the ideal "gender-inclusive nutritioninterventions" package (GINI for short) was neverfound, based on the findings of this review, it can bedescribed. Indeed, it is quite consonant with this study sconceptual framework. The most effective programs wouldencompass the following "success factors": (a)ensure that the targeted women not only earn but controlincome (as in the HKI homestead garden projects inBangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia); (b) get the powerfulmembers of young married women s households - men andpaternal grandmothers - on board by means of peer advocacyand community-oriented programs that (c) provide them withinformation on nutrition and women s child welfare-focusedspending patterns, (d) as well as (small) incentives so theydon t seize control of income or marketable food generatedby those women. These programs also would (e) trainforward-looking local women (including grandmothers) and menfor volunteer roles (preferably with small incentives forsustainability). (f) They would provide BCC on nutrition andhelp increase support by community leaders, religiousfigures and members for young women s livelihoods as well asmother/child nutrition. (g) Finally, the ideal GINI wouldalso target teen girls, offering them nutrition information,along with incentives to parents to keep them in school andprograms for the girls to earn money. Positive examplesencountered in the literature are presented below (alongwith some partial successes that need further refinement).If polished and scaled up, such programs could put a bigdent in the "South Asian Enigma" and both thegender inequities and malnutrition that define it.
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