Coping with food and nutrition insecurity in Zimbabwe: does household head gender matter?

Coping with food and nutrition insecurity in Zimbabwe: does household head gender matter?

Blog Article

Abstract On the basis of a large-scale nationally representative sample of household data from five pooled cross-section surveys conducted by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC), this study assesses the existence of gender differences in the vulnerability to food and nutrition insecurity, usage of consumption-based and livelihoods-based coping strategies, and the existence Kegel Tools / Ben Wa of gender heterogeneity in the correlation of usage of such coping strategies when confronted by food and nutrition insecurity.The study offers three main findings.Firstly, female-headed households are more susceptible to food and nutrition insecurity than those headed by males.Secondly, female-headed households are more likely to employ consumption-based coping strategies than their male counterparts, but there is no statistically HEAVENLY SLEEP LIQUID significant difference in the usage of livelihoods-based coping strategies.Finally, whilst there is little evidence of gender heterogeneity in the correlation of the usage consumption-based coping strategies, there is overwhelming evidence that female-headed household heads are less likely to adopt livelihoods-based coping strategies when confronted with food and nutrition insecurity.

The sum total of these findings is that whilst female-headed households are more prone to food insecurity than their male counterparts, they are less able to use livelihoods-based coping strategies to weather household food and nutrition insecurity than their male counterparts.