Engagement in agriculture protects against food insecurity and malnutrition in peri-urban Nepal

BACKGROUND: Urbanization is occurring rapidly in many low- and middle-income countries, which may affect households’ livelihoods, diet, and food security and nutritional outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of our study was to explore whether agricultural activity amongst a peri-urban population in Nepal was associated with better or worse food household security, household and maternal dietary diversity, and nutritional outcomes for children and women. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey administered to 344 mother-child pairs in Bhaktapur district, Nepal, including data on household agricultural practices, livestock ownership, food security, dietary diversity and expenditures, anthropometric measurements of children (aged 5–6 years old), maternal body mass index (BMI), and maternal anemia. Multivariable adjusted and unadjusted odds ratios (AOR and OR respectively) were calculated using logistic regression. RESULTS: Our findings suggest that in this sample, cultivation of land was associated with a lower odds of child stunting (AOR 0.55, 95% CI 0.33,0.93) and household food insecurity (AOR 0.33, 95% CI 0.18, 0.63), but not low (or high) maternal BMI or anemia. Livestock ownership (mostly chickens) was associated with lower of food insecurity (AOR 0.34, 95% CI 0.16, 0.73) but not with nutrition outcomes. Women in farming households were significantly more likely to eat green leafy vegetables than women in non-farming households, and children living in households that grew vegetables had a lower odds of stunting than children in households that cultivated land but did not grow vegetables (AOR 0.49, 95% CI 0.25, 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that households involved in cultivation of land in peri-urban Bhaktapur had lower odds of children's stunting and of food insecurity than non-cultivating households – and that vegetable consumption is higher among those households. Given Nepal's rapid urbanization rate, more attention is needed to the potential role of peri-urban agriculture in shaping diets and nutrition.Funding was provided by the USAID Feed the Future Security Innovation Lab for Nutrition - Asia [award number AIDOAA-l-10-00005] through a sub-contract to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University; and by the GC Rieber Foundation.https://academic.oup.com/cdn/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cdn/nzy078/5154906Accepted manuscrip

Remittances, Human Capital, and Economic Growth: Panel Data Evidence from Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

We examine the impact of remittances on economic growth using panel data (1975-2014) for 18 countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that are similar in size and development level. We allow for heterogeneous production functions across countries and calculate the average marginal effects of remittances using the panel dynamic ordinary least squares estimator. The estimation results show that remittances increase growth significantly, especially through investments in human capital. In addition we find that: (i) remittances have a modest impact on growth when controlling for physical and human capital channels through which remittances potentially affect output growth; (ii) when we do not control for human capital the effect is larger regardless of the sub-samples considered − the elasticity of output with respect to remittances is 7.3 percent in the full sample, and 18.6 percent among Asian countries; (iii) remittances have a significant positive long-run effect on human capital formation regardless of the sub-samples considered but the effect on physical capital accumulation is significant only among middle income and Asian countries. The findings suggest that channeling the remittances towards investments in physical capital and adoption of new knowledge, skills and technology is crucial for high economic growth in low income countries.JEL Classification Codes: C24, O15The authors acknowledge financial support from the GRIPS’s Policy Research Center through the project "International Remittances and Investment in Education in Nepal."http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/leon_gonzalez_roberto

The Quest for Quality Education： International Remittances and Rural-Urban Migration in Nepal

Despite a large growth in domestic and international migration and remittances in recent decades, there are limited works that systematically identify and establish interactions between internal and international migration. Using primary data from new urban areas of Nepal, we identify households that had migrated from rural to urban areas, explore their migration practices and educational investment behaviors, and analyze the effects of international migration and remittances on investment in education. The results show that, despite their lower income and consumption, migrant households that have members abroad have higher human capital investment measured by the level and budget share of expenditure on children’s education and the time their children spend for studying at home than do urban-native and other types of migrant households. Our findings suggest that searching for better education is one important motivation for migrating to urban areas among rural households having members abroad.JEL Classification Codes: F22, F24, C24, O15The financial supports for the field survey was provided by Fuji Xerox Setsutaro Kobayashi Memorial Fund, Japan. The authors also acknowledge financial support from GRIPS’s Policy Research Center through the project entitled "International Remittances and Investment in Education in Nepal".http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/leon_gonzalez_roberto/http://doi.org/10.24545/0000133

Initiation of Breastfeeding and Factors Associated with Prelacteal Feeds in Central Nepal

Background: Prelacteal feeds and delayed initiation of breastfeeding may lead to undernutrition of the infant but are still prevalent in many countries.Objective: A prospective cohort community-based study was conducted in central Nepal to ascertain the rate of early breastfeeding initiation and factors associated with the introduction of prelacteal feeds.Methods: Breastfeeding information was collected from 639 women who recently gave birth in the Kaski district of central Nepal. Backward stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with the use of prelacteal feeds.Results: The incidence of prelacteal feeds was 9.1%, with infant formula being the most common prelacteal food. Approximately 67% and 90% of mothers breastfed within 1 hour and 4 hours of delivery, respectively. Women who reside in urban areas (odds ratio [OR] = 2.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35-5.39), first-time mothers (OR = 2.15; 95% CI,1.15-4.02), and those who underwent cesarean section (OR = 10.10; 95% CI, 5.47-18.67) were more likely to give prelacteal feeds to their infants.Conclusion: The early initiation of breastfeeding with colostrum as the first feed was common in the study area. The introduction of prelacteal feeds was associated with urban residency, first-time motherhood, and cesarean delivery

Association between wasting and food insecurity among children under five years: findings from Nepal demographic health survey 2016

Background Wasting is a consequence of food insecurity, inappropriate dietary practices, and inadequate caring and feeding practices. The present study assessed association between wasting and household food insecurity among under 5 years old children, along with other socio-demographic characteristics. Methods This study is a secondary analysis of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. The survey is cross-sectional in design with use of standardized tools. The sampling frame used is an updated version of the frame from the 2011 National Population and Housing Census. The participants were children under 5 years of age (n = 2414). Logistic regression was carried out to identify the odds of being wasted for children belonging to different levels of food insecure households using odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals. Results The prevalence of wasting increased with the level of food insecurity, from mild (9.4%) to moderate (10.8%) and to severe (11.3%). The highest proportions of wasted children were in Province 2 (14.3%), from rural areas (10.1%), born to mothers with no education (12.4%) and from a richer quintile (11.3%). Children belonging to severe food insecure households had 1.36 (95%CI 0.72–2.57) adjusted odds of being wasted and those belonging to mild food insecure and moderately food insecure households had 0.98 (95%CI 0.64-1.49) and 1.13 (95%CI 0.65–1.97) odds of being wasted respectively. Province 1 (AOR 2.06, 95%CI 1.01–4.19) and Province 2 (AOR 2.45, 95%CI 1.22–4.95) were significantly associated with wasting. Conclusion Considering the increment in childhood wasting as per level of food insecurity, an integrated intervention should be developed in Nepal that, 1. addresses improving knowledge and behavior of community people with respect to diet and nutrition; 2. reduce the problem of food insecurity through agricultural interventions

Community Services and Out-Migration

This paper investigates the relationship between changing community context and out-migration in one of today’s poor countries, seeking to document the various mechanisms by which infrastructure affects the migratory behavior. We focus on the expansion of social and physical facilities and services near to rural people’s homes, including transportation, new markets, employment, schools, health clinics, and mass media outlets such as movie halls. We draw upon detailed data from Nepal to estimate the hypothesized effects. The direct effects of expanding economic and human capital infrastructure are clearly negative, reducing out-migration. However, increased economic infrastructure is associated with a greater accumulation of human and social capital among respondents and their parents. Through these intervening mechanisms, economic and social infrastructure increased the odds of migrating out. These results reveal the often countervailing nature of short- and long-term effects of economic and social change, and the complex pathways influencing migration outcomes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78714/1/j.1468-2435.2009.00581.x.pd

Ambivalence towards discourse of disaster resilience

This paper investigates empirically how the international aid community (IAC)—donors and practitioners—considers and implements disaster resilience in a specific country setting, Nepal, and throughout the rest of the world. A key finding is that there is ambivalence about a concept that has become a discourse. On a global level, the IAC utilises the discourse of resilience in a cautiously positive manner as a bridging concept. On a national level, it is being used to influence the Government of Nepal, as well as serving as an operational tool of donors. The mythical resilient urban community is fashioned in the IAC's imaginary; understanding how people create communities and what type of linkages with government urban residents desire to develop their resilience strategies is missing, though, from the discussion. Disaster resilience can be viewed as another grand plan to enhance the lives of people. Yet, regrettably, an explicit focus on individuals and their communities is lost in the process

Financial Self-Help Associations among Far West Nepalese Labor Migrants in Delhi, India

Labor migration to India is the most important source of income for people in Far West Nepal. To better understand the effects of labor migration, a research analyzing why and how migrants invest their money in financial self-help organizations was undertaken. Fieldwork was conducted in the communities of origin in Nepal and migrant communities in India. Based on the study, the paper provides an overview of the existing financial self-help associations, their strengths and weaknesses, accessibility and possibilities of benefits and losses for the migrants and their families. The major conclusion is that migration helps to improve income or security but can also undermine a household's financial situation by perpetuating debt and dependency

Women's leadership in the Asian Century: does expansion mean inclusion?

This paper draws on British Council commissioned research in response to concerns about women's absence from senior leadership positions in higher education in South Asia. The study sought existing knowledge from literature, policies, and available statistics and collected original interview data from 30 academics in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. A central finding was that gender is not a category of analysis in higher education policy, research or statistical data in the region. Our interview data suggest that leadership was frequently not an object of desire for women. Being associated with particular types of masculinities, leadership often carried a heavy affective load for those women who transgressed patriarchal socio-cultural norms and disrupted the symbolic order of women being led by men. Leadership was frequently perceived and experienced by women in terms of navigating a range of ugly feelings and toxicities that depleted aspirations, well-being and opportunities

The contribution of female community health volunteers (FCHVs) to maternity care in Nepal: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: In resource-poor settings, the provision of basic maternity care within health centres is often a challenge. Despite the difficulties, Nepal reduced its maternal mortality ratio by 80% from 850 to an estimated 170 per 100,000 live births between 1991 and 2011 to achieve Millennium Development Goal Five. One group that has been credited for this is community health workers, known as Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs), who form an integral part of the government healthcare system. This qualitative study explores the role of FCHVs in maternal healthcare provision in two regions: the Hill and Terai. METHODS: Between May 2014 and September 2014, 20 FCHVs, 11 health workers and 26 service users were purposefully selected and interviewed using semi-structured topic guides. In addition, four focus group discussions were held with 19 FCHVs. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: All study participants acknowledged the contribution of FCHVs in maternity care. All FCHVs reported that they shared key health messages through regularly held mothers' group meetings and referred women for health checks. The main difference between the two study regions was the support available to FCHVs from the local health centres. With regular training and access to medical supplies, FCHVs in the hill villages reported activities such as assisting with childbirth, distributing medicines and administering pregnancy tests. They also reported use of innovative approaches to educate mothers. Such activities were not reported in Terai. In both regions, a lack of monetary incentives was reported as a major challenge for already overburdened volunteers followed by a lack of education for FCHVs. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the role of FCHVs varies according to the context in which they work. FCHVs, supported by government health centres with emphasis on the use of local approaches, have the potential to deliver basic maternity care and promote health-seeking behaviour so that serious delays in receiving healthcare can be minimised. However, FCHVs need to be reimbursed and provided with educational training to ensure that they can work effectively. The study underlines the relevance of community health workers in resource-poor settings