Food Insecurity among Women in Uganda
By Hanna R. Burgin
Published Fall 2021
Special thanks to Hannah Pitt for editing and research contributions
Summary+
Many women in Uganda suffer from a lack of available food resources. With food insecurity being a well-known and significant challenge facing many in Uganda, the country has worked over the years to combat the issue and end hunger, yet many women must still face this battle daily.1 Uganda has seen a decrease in available food and consequently an increase in women suffering from food insecurity due to climate change, gender inequality, and rapid population growth. Among many others, the negative consequences of food insecurity include enduring poverty and economic insecurity, family malnutrition, and sexual risk. Empowering women through educational and skills-based workshops has proven through various evaluations and assessments to be a successful best practice in helping women to improve their lives and overcome struggles with hunger and food insecurity.
Key Takeaways+
Key Terms+
Food insecurity—The limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate, safe foods or the inability to acquire personally acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.2
Subsistence farming—When all or most of the crops and livestock raised are used by the farmer’s family to survive, and there is no surplus to sell for profit.
Global Hunger Index—A peer-reviewed annual report that aims to measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels using data from respected organizations such as the UN, FAO, and WHO.
Refugee—Someone who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.3
Malnutrition—Deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients, or impaired nutrient utilization due to the lack of proper food intake.4
Child stunting—Impaired growth (height) and development resulting from poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation.5
Child wasting—When a child experiences a low weight for their height due to malnutrition and insufficient food intake.6
Child mortality—The death of a child under the age of five.
Anemia—A condition in which a person lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to their body's tissue.7
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)—An incurable disorder that weakens a person’s immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection.8
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)—The most severe phase of HIV infection causing damaged immune systems and an increasing number of severe illnesses. Without treatment, people with AIDS typically survive about three years.9
Context
The UN defines food security as “all people, at all times, [having] physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.”10 Throughout Africa, the number of undernourished people increased from 182 to 287 million between 1990 and 2015.11 Food insecurity is a major issue throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Uganda is one of the most at risk countries, facing serious economic challenges due to hunger and malnourishment.12 In 2019, the Global Hunger Index ranked 117 nations for hunger levels based on their prevalence of undernourishment, child mortality, child wasting, and child stunting. Uganda was ranked near the bottom at 104.13 Slightly better ratings were seen in neighboring countries to the east like Kenya and Tanzania, but worse situations were reported in countries to the west, including Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Rwanda.14 While recent conflict is largely responsible for the worse situations in these three countries, Uganda’s climate and culture are similar enough that insights and solutions to its hunger may also be helpful in improving its struggling neighbors' situations.15 While there has been slight improvement in the relative levels of undernourished people when compared to the overall population, food security continues to be a significant and complex challenge for the women of Uganda.
According to the World Food Program, 60% of the 690 million people worldwide who are food insecure are women and girls, and in two-thirds of nations, women are more likely to report food insecurity than men.16 In Uganda, the head of a household has the responsibility to secure food for the rest of the family by trading or working for the money to purchase food, or by growing food. The World Bank approximates that 29.5% of Ugandan households are led by women due to a high number of single, widowed, and divorced mothers.17 This statistic means that nearly one-third of households are especially vulnerable to the issues associated with food insecurity for women. Although the situation in Uganda is improving, 12% of the population in Uganda is currently chronically food insecure.18 In a study published in 2018, nearly half of surveyed households (49%) reported at least 1 hungry period between 2012 and 2013, and 25% of them experienced a second.19 The country’s overall Global Hunger Index score has not improved since 2010 despite the fact that its child hunger metrics (wasting, stunting, and mortality) have decreased; improvements have been negated by increasing undernourishment in a proportion of the population.20
In 2017, the Uganda National Household Survey reported that the average Ugandan household purchased 57% of their food, as opposed to growing it themselves. Unsurprisingly, rural households bought less food (58%) and urban households bought more (77%). In the same survey, 43% of Ugandan households reported that they depend on rain-fed subsistence farming to sustain their food supply.21 Agriculture also plays a key role in the nation’s economy and its ability to combat food insecurity. Low-productivity agriculture comprises approximately 25% of the economy, 50% of exports, and 70% of employment.22 The remainder of employment is filled by industry (7%) and services (25%), which produce 20% and 47% of annual GDP (gross domestic product, or the monetary estimate of a nation’s goods and services), respectively.23 The effects of Uganda’s heavy reliance on agriculture in relation to food insecurity will be discussed in the Contributing Factors section.
While all Ugandans are at risk of food insecurity, women are highly vulnerable to its effects as women account for 80% of small-scale subsistence farming in the country and, proportionally, more women live below the poverty line than men.24, 25 The relationship between agriculture, gender, and food security in Uganda will be further explained in the following sections.
Contributing Factors
Economic and Political Inequality
Financial Disadvantages for Women
Gender inequality, specifically in the form of female financial disadvantages, leads to food insecurity among women in Uganda. As previously mentioned, food insecurity is a greater problem for women and female-headed households. Due to the cultural belief that men are the family providers, women are frequently denied opportunities to earn income other than through farming.26 Additionally, the agricultural sector is becoming increasingly feminized as men are more likely and able to pursue other professions.27 As of 2017, over 70% of women in Uganda between 14 and 64 years old claimed agriculture as their main occupation, while only 58% of men did. Women may spend 2.5 times as many hours on unpaid household work per week than men, which exhausts them and limits their time elsewhere.28 Partially because household duties take up so much of their time, many women who can find work are limited to low-paying and infrequent options.29 As of 2017, more than half of women went unpaid for their work (compared to 17% of men), and those who were paid frequently received fewer wages than men for the same work.30 Women are also rarely able to take advantage of financial services. Many banks may limit their access to financial credit or bank accounts due to gender bias engrained in local culture.31, 32, 33 Women in Uganda may be 8% less likely to be approved for a loan than men and they are also more likely to obtain smaller loans, largely due to a fear of debt.34 In the Wekembe region, a study determined that a woman’s loan is more likely to be approved if she is married and if she can prove to be educated, while no such biases exist for similar male applicants.35 Limited job opportunities and bank assistance put Ugandan women at a financial disadvantage to purchase food needed to support themselves and their families.
Disadvantages for Women in Politics
The financial disadvantages Ugandan women experience are worsened by the political limitations they also face. Ugandan politics on local and national levels have left women out of most written policy and political participation.36 This alienation has occurred largely because women are rarely invited to decision-making events or asked for their perspectives on issues.37, 38 Gender mainstreaming is “an approach to policy-making that takes into account both women's and men's interests and concerns” and has so far failed in agricultural policy within Uganda.39 In two separate studies examining nearly 240 agricultural and natural resource policy documents in the country, researchers found that many of the documents ignored gender entirely.40, 41, 42 Due to gender inequality in Ugandan politics, women struggle to influence the policies that would improve their financial and food security.
Disadvantages for Women in the Agricultural Sector
Ugandan women who work in the agricultural sector are disadvantaged compared to their male counterparts because women have little or no ownership and control over land, natural resources, livestock, and produce, which reduces their ability to grow crops, obtain financial stability, and earn money.43, 44, 45 Although Ugandan law states that women have rights to own land and property, cultural barriers and stereotypes have prevented this from being practiced.46 Currently, 80% of land is administered based on local custom, which frequently skips over women inheritors and gives land to sons or other male clan members.47 Studies found that only 39% of the sampled women in Uganda owned land, and a mere 12% to 19% of them were the sole owners.48 Because female-owned property is often unsecure, women are less likely to adopt long-term modern agricultural methods like soil and water conservation or invest in expensive tools, despite the increase in food production that would result from such actions.49 The lack of women’s rights to land and property reduces their financial and nutritional security, as well as decreases their social power by eliminating their ability to sell and trade for food and other goods.50, 51
Cultural beliefs influence how Ugandan women conduct their farms, mainly due to a lack of time and resources. Because women spend much of their time on household duties, they are more prone to choosing less labor-intensive farming methods that only provide short term benefits to their households.52 While data that indicate the prevalence of this issue are lacking, it is known that women choose to grow fewer types of crops. This decision then leads to decreased nutrition and biodiversity, and therefore greater risk of pests, crop diseases, and potential crop failure.53, 54 When Ugandan women increased their crop diversity by 1% (as measured by the number of crops per acre or the number of traditional crops per acre), their total production increased approximately 5% to 12% per acre. This is an income increase between 3,600 UGX (Ugandan shillings) and 7,900 UGX, which is equivalent to 1.0 to 2.2 USD.55 When the average Ugandan earned approximately 796 USD in the year of the study, such seemingly small differences are significant.56 This potential for higher earnings makes the decision to diversify crops even more beneficial for women’s food security. Women also often work on very small pieces of land and have limited access to labor, largely due to gender and cultural norms that discourage men from working for women.57, 58 As a result, it is difficult for female-headed households to produce enough crops to support their families, and even more unlikely that they will have extra to sell. The gender-related differences in income were clearly reported in 2016, where men within the agricultural sector earned approximately 75,000 UGX (21.21 USD) while women earned less than 50,000 UGX (14.14 USD).59
In addition, women generally have little access to agricultural education, training, or extension services that will teach them skills and introduce them to new technologies that can help them improve their harvests.60, 61, 62 The Uganda Census of Agriculture 2008 to 2009 discovered that out of the 19% of agricultural households that received extension services, only 19% were headed by women.63 Without access to these resources, women may not be aware of improved crop varieties or agricultural practices that will make their farms more adaptable to the changing environment.64
Climate Change
Climate change has led to unusual weather conditions in Uganda that affect women’s ability to produce food. Such abnormal conditions include increased rainfall, floods, drought, abnormal winds, pest infestations, and changing temperatures, which make it more difficult for women to raise crops and livestock and obtain enough food for their families.65, 66 More than 60% of Ugandan households depend on rain-fed subsistence farming to sustain their food supply.67 As the climate and its associated rainfall have become more unpredictable, such families have become increasingly vulnerable to climate change. While specific events have varied from region to region, between 2009 and 2019 the districts of Kitgam, Agago, Oyam, Dokolo, Napak, Lira, and Amolatar all reported years of abnormal drought, excessive rainfall, and flooding.68
In addition, climate change can magnify other current threats to food security like sanitation and health risks. Warmer temperatures are linked with water scarcity, water pollution, and increasing disease through improper food preparation and storage, all of which exacerbate food insecurity.69 Changing weather can also lead to unproductive soil.70 As both soil and water sources fail, farmers fight over access to limited resources.71, 72 The effects of climate change have already caused regional conflict over scarce resources, and this trend is projected to worsen in agricultural areas.73, 74 Some experts predict that as climate and food security issues worsen, more powerful interest groups will displace small agricultural communities who do not have the legal authority to oppose them.75 In Uganda, this displacement would likely target female-headed households. As natural resource levels have decreased and uncertainty continues to grow around climate expectations, obtaining and securing food has become a concern and a difficulty for many Ugandans.76 Although data specific to Uganda are lacking, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development concluded at the end of a global forum in 2014 that the most likely factors to increase competition over land and other resources are climate change and population growth.77
Because most women in Uganda work in agriculture, climate change threatens their job security as it is becoming more difficult to grow healthy crops and livestock.78 It is also widely believed that lower income groups are at higher risk of climate change–related food insecurity, although the exact percentages vary due to the many factors that play into the issue.79, 80 As women in Uganda earn significantly lower incomes than their male counterparts in all sectors, they are more vulnerable.81 Climate change thus plays a significant role in how women are affected by food insecurity in Uganda, ultimately affecting their ability to secure food for themselves and for their households.82
Rapid Population Growth
As the population of Uganda has rapidly grown, citizens throughout the nation have struggled more with food insecurity, although women are more vulnerable in specific ways. With a population growth rate of 3 to 4% per year, Uganda is currently expanding yearly by 1 million people. The main driver behind the substantial growth is the fertility rate among Ugandan women, which was the highest in the world for 40 years.83 In 2019, the World Bank reported Uganda’s fertility rate was 4.8 births per woman, ranking at number 9 in the world and being preceded by all African nations.84 The rapid population growth in Uganda exacerbates preexistent food insecurity because the country's economy and existing infrastructure are not stable enough to adequately support so many people.85 Contrary to the beliefs of the Ugandan president who hoped this growth would foster economic gains, the increase in population is fueling poverty and food insecurity that is disproportionately affecting women since they have limited time, freedoms, and access to agricultural education and resources.86 The lack of appropriate infrastructure needed to connect, educate, and employ its citizens especially hinders its women.87 As the population grows, competition will grow over limited resources like food, water, and land; those with the greatest access or purchasing power—the vast majority who are men—will be the most food secure.88, 89 Research shows that Uganda and other sub-Saharan African countries do not produce enough crops to sustain their populations. It is projected that countries in sub-Saharan Africa would have to increase their yields of major cereal crops six-fold in order to reach yields similar to those in more developed nations.90 This may not be possible in Uganda due to its instability. Even if it were, production would still not be able to keep up with the current population growth. In addition, these cereal crops alone would provide enough calories to prevent starvation, but they would not provide proper nourishment.91
The expanding refugee population within Uganda is another driving force behind the shortage in available food. Uganda is known to host more refugees than any other African country, with 3% of the total population being refugees.92 The open-door policy has led the country to a recent count of over 1.4 million refugees, the majority fleeing from war-torn South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.93, 94 In 2020, the Ugandan government determined that they would need 357 million USD to support their refugees throughout the year but were only able to spend approximately 165 million USD due to lack of sufficient funding.95 Uganda’s government resources are already stretched due to nation-wide food shortages, drought, and high-unemployment. Diversion of these resources to support refugees puts excessive pressure on an overstretched state and host community resources.96
Almost 51% of Uganda’s population is younger than 18 years old, which equals a huge population that cannot contribute much to the economy but needs to be fed and supervised by working-age adults.97 Since Ugandan women are responsible for household management, they will likely be the ones to watch them and will therefore be limited in their effectiveness at work.98 An increased number of refugees and an economy not prepared for this level of population growth has taken away critical resources, jobs, and food availability from Ugandan women.
Negative Consequences
Family Malnutrition
Women and their families suffering from food insecurity in Uganda often experience malnutrition. At an undernourishment rate of 41.4%, a substantial proportion of the Ugandan population does not have the essential resources to meet their minimum calorie requirement.99 Estimations regarding the amount of food needed in Uganda versus the amount of food currently produced are difficult to make due to the complexity of a healthy diet and the agricultural capabilities that vary by region, but the fact remains that malnutrition is common. Since most children depend on their mothers for food, a mother’s health is important for the health of the rest of her family.
Low nutrition levels of Ugandan mothers are a significant danger to both the mother and the baby at the time of birth. When the mother suffers from insufficient nutrition, there is an increased risk of death for the mother during delivery and the baby will be predisposed to malnutrition.100, 101 The inadequate maternal care from mothers who are not able to sustain a healthy life themselves has led to only 15% of children between 6 to 23 months of age receiving a minimum satisfactory diet.102 In addition, only 66% of children under 6 months of age are exclusively breastfed, contributing to the high levels of wasting (low weight) and stunting (low height).103 This gap is partially due to lack of education but also partially due to undernourished mothers who cannot produce enough milk for their children.104 The effects of childhood stunting can be lifelong, including an increased risk of adulthood obesity, a decreased ability to function mentally and physically at all ages, and a reduced life expectancy.105 Anemia, a condition in which a person lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to their body's tissue, is another significant risk to mothers and children in Uganda who have micronutrient deficiencies.106 Currently 53% of children under the age of 5 and 32% of women in their reproductive age suffer from anemia.107 Though dangerous at all ages, anemia is most common among children and presents serious threats to their health.108 Children’s overall immunity decreases with malnutrition and they become more susceptible to infections and diseases, increasing their mortality and morbidity rate.109
Malnutrition from lack of available food remains a significant obstacle for the country, causing a severe impairment of human development among children. More than one-third of African children experience challenges in their physical and intellectual development due to an insufficient diet.110 Although child undernutrition and mortality rates have declined over time, Uganda currently suffers from a child stunting rate of 28.9%, a child wasting rate of 3.6%, and a child mortality rate of 5.3%.111 Currently, undernutrition is the cause of 4 in 10 deaths of children under the age of 5 in Uganda.112 The decreased availability of food and resources to mothers in Uganda negatively affects not only the women and their families but also society as a whole.
Enduring Poverty and Economic Insecurity
Food insecurity among women and their households is linked with enduring poverty and economic insecurity. According to a 2017 survey, food and nonalcoholic beverages comprised 37.8% and 50.8% of urban and rural households’ monthly expenditures, respectively.113 In addition to this, the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet grew at a rate of 3.0 to 9.2% annually between 2000 and 2011, and this trend has likely continued.114 In most recent years, the average cost of purchased food has remained above the poverty line, meaning that food costs more than impoverished families can afford to spend.115 When families spend so much of their limited income, as well as their time and energy, on putting food on the table, it is near impossible for them to escape the cycle of poverty and establish financial security.116 The situation is made worse when regions within Uganda experience food shortages due to severe weather and massive crop failures. Resulting shortages in 2008 and 2011 led to a rise in food prices and food theft from households and granaries in the country.117, 118 Because such a large part of Ugandan families’ income goes to buying food, higher food prices forced some to sacrifice other things that could improve their situation such as tools, training, or education.119
Poverty endures among food-insecure families in Uganda due to a variety of reasons. Although there is minimal data from Uganda specifically, women in Ghana have faced similar situations. In their desperation to obtain food or income, women in both countries have been reported to form agricultural habits which satisfy hunger for a short period of time but do not provide a stable solution to food insecurity, largely due to their constraints in obtaining land and labor.120, 121 In Ghana, women may plant small gardens during drought seasons but will hesitate to make long-term investments such as purchasing fruit trees because they do not own the land.122 Women in Uganda are less likely than men to implement water trenches, micro-irrigation, or soil fertilization to conserve water and soil resources due to the high money or labor costs.123 Implementing labor-intensive techniques in Ugandan subsistence farming leads to greater income and life-improving opportunities and are thus considered critical for development and escaping poverty. However, since most women do not have access to the education, skills, or time necessary to be able to apply these techniques, they are unable to take advantage of the associated opportunities and improve their food situation.124 As mentioned previously, female farmers also tend to prefer climate adaptation measures that are not labor-intensive and produce short-term benefits. When women cannot afford to adopt new methods, whether that is due to lack of resources or time, they cannot improve their economic and food security for the long run.
When households do not have enough food, members are more likely to become weak, sick, and unable to work.125 UNICEF estimated that an adult who suffered or is suffering from malnutrition loses between 22 to 30% of their income every year, a financial burden that falls to family members, most typically the woman of the house.126, 127 Food insecurity is acutely detrimental to the future financial success of children who have been subjected to long-term undernutrition and are stunted as a result.128 This is because the health problems associated with food insecurity and undernutrition can lead to lifelong consequences, including decreased labor productivity, socio-emotional skills, ability to succeed in school, and income-earning potential, meaning that children who experience food insecurity will likely struggle to support themselves and future families.129, 130 In addition, treating and caring for those who suffer from malnourishment and its associated diseases put a significant cost on individual families in Uganda and on the health system, continuing to perpetuate the high levels of poverty in the country.131 Between 2013 and 2025, malnutrition was estimated to cost the country almost 19 trillion UGX, which is approximately 5.4 billion USD.132 Food insecurity and its associated health issues add to the cycle of poverty and economic insecurity in Uganda.
Sexual Risk
Food insecurity among Ugandan women leads some to participate in risky sexual practices such as transactional sex or abusive relationships. While there is no quantifiable report on the prevalence of these actions in Uganda, extensive anecdotal evidence suggests that some women who do not have enough food for themselves and their families, resort to transactional sex in exchange for food or money to buy it.133, 134, 135 This is seen throughout the world, including in Uganda, and is true for teenagers as well as adult women.136 In Uganda, one widow with five children told researchers that she despised the idea of transactional sex but had considered it. She said, “It usually happens when my children are very, very hungry and I have no food and there is no money. And something tells me, ‘Why am I rejecting the men, after all, I would be able to feed my children.’”137 Widows are especially at risk of sexual solicitation because their land, income, or property may be taken away following their husband’s death.138 Men in communities understand this and some target the vulnerable women who see no other way to feed their families. However, widows are often secure if their husbands leave them with land or animals through a legal deed or will.139 Similar to succumbing to transactional sex for the sake of food security, some women choose to remain in abusive relationships because they do not know how else they can obtain food.140 Because women have limited access to property or jobs, they have little ability to provide for themselves without a man and some therefore surrender to domestic abuse.141
The Risks of HIV
In addition, research suggests that women’s vulnerability to HIV is linked to their access to land and food.142, 143 HIV is a major health concern in Uganda and is fairly common among teens and adults. Some women reported that when they requested that their partner use a condom, he would withhold food (or money to buy food) from them or their children until they gave in to unprotected sex.144 The number of women who have experienced such a thing has not been recorded, but this story has been repeated by women throughout many studies.145 Men will offer women up to ten times more money for unprotected sex versus when wearing a condom, which is near impossible for desperate women to refuse.146 Therefore, these women risk contracting HIV in order to feed themselves and their families. The same trend was seen in neighboring Kenya, where food insufficiency made women 5.24 times more likely to use condoms inconsistently, but no difference in usage was found between men who were food secure and insecure.147 As an added consequence of food insecurity, when women are malnourished, their immune systems are weakened, and they are therefore more likely to contract HIV, develop AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), and die from complications.148 In Uganda in 2020, it was estimated that approximately 21,000 women over the age of 15 contracted a new HIV infection, 820,000 women were living with HIV, and 9,100 suffered an AIDS-related death.149
Antiretroviral (ARV) therapy can prevent HIV-infected people from progressing to AIDS, but when patients are undernourished from food insecurity, it can be much more difficult for them to consistently adhere to the treatment. This is an issue because the virus can become drug-resistant and the treatment will no longer work if the patient stops therapy for more than two weeks.150 The therapy leads to increased appetite and intolerable hunger, and side effects such as stomach pain become more pronounced when the medication is not taken with enough food.151 As a result, some infected women in Uganda choose not to start ARV if they do not believe they can obtain adequate food throughout the treatment period. Other women are forced to choose between food and medical expenses, and as food is a more pressing need it often wins.152 Food insecurity not only increases the likelihood of Ugandan women contracting HIV but may also reduce their ability to respond to the ill effects that result.
Practices
Empowering Women through Educational Workshops
Educational workshops can empower women by providing them with the knowledge, resources, and confidence necessary for them to establish food security in their households. Throughout the world, disempowerment of women is significantly higher in agricultural households with high hunger scores, indicating that food security is closely related to women’s empowerment.153 The Women's Empowerment in Agriculture index (WEAI) report in 2014 stated that only 58% of women in Uganda had reached adequate empowerment scores.154 The largest roadblocks to empowering these women are their workloads, lack of decision-making power for using income or obtaining credit, and access to credit.155 Furthermore, gender inequality solidified by culture and government has denied Ugandan women access to resources, training and educational opportunities—all of which empower women in the agricultural sector. Workshops have the ability to bridge the gap and provide such resources, training, and education to women.156 Understanding how to access and then implement resources in their own enterprises is how Ugandan women will gain true empowerment and improve their family’s food security. A well-designed and implemented educational workshop addressed to women can accomplish this, and as such, it is growing in popularity.
A variety of organizations provide educational workshops but differ in the topics they cover, their teaching methods, and whether they include men and women. Some workshops have found topics such as crop and livestock management practices, new technologies like improved seed and fertilizers, helping women to gain access to bank accounts and loans, and family planning resources to be beneficial in increasing food security for women.157 A pilot program implemented in various African countries (including Uganda) employed a Gender Action Learning System in its educational workshops, using teaching principles and tools to confront practical gender issues and empower women. This approach helped confront many of the gender inequalities that prevent African women from the economic success they need to maintain food security.158 No single organization currently does everything perfectly, but some good practices include listening to the needs of the women, discovering what resources are available, and evaluating the demand in the community.159 These allow organizations to fully understand the needs of their target audience so they can design and develop programs and follow-up workshops specific to them.
Successful trainings for small-scale female farmers in Uganda have led to increased food production and decreased poverty, thus increasing food security among those involved.160 In districts within Uganda, women empowered in agriculture reported significantly greater decision making and autonomy in nearly all domains.161 One 2018 study found that when women have a larger role in decision-making, household well-being and food security improves, which supports the conclusions of related studies.162, 163 In addition to providing women with skills and training, educational workshops are shown to successfully help women feel empowered through changing their thought processes and mindsets.164 When psychological and social training are provided as part of a workshop, its outcomes are shown to be much more successful in helping women improve their quality of life.165 While no numerical data is readily available to explain the extent of the impact, the direction of the impact has been agreed to be positive.
In the African study using the Gender Action Learning System, men and women participants in Zimbabwe recognized that sharing household work and making decisions as a couple would reduce crop failure rates and therefore improve the household’s income, productivity, and food security. This program was successful because it addressed core gender issues and provided a platform for the community to discuss and find solutions.166 As a result, the women obtained greater equality in time and resource management, which, as mentioned before, leads to increased food security for their households. Additionally, a study on the effects of a skills development workshop for women in Uganda reported a reduction in household poverty levels with 74% of participants having gained practical skills. They also reported growth of 65% in average household income for these women, leading to 903 households reporting increased spending on food and health services.167 Pairing resources with educational training allows educational workshops to positively impact the lives of women by helping them build confidence, reevaluate their beliefs, and gain knowledge which they can use to improve their households’ food security.
The practice of empowering women through educational workshops requires that women have access to the workshops. This can be a challenge for many women if they do not have the time to attend, they are not able to travel to the workshop location, or they are prohibited from attending due to children or responsibilities at home. Additionally, holding workshops requires funds and resources. Needed funding ranges greatly depending on what the workshops provide. Programs providing tools or seed will cost significantly more than those that are more discussion- or reading-based. Funds may also be spent on transportation to reach rural communities or to bring the participants to another location. Funding can be hard to secure and finding resources, including a location and educational materials, can be a significant obstacle. According to a UN Women-UNFPA study, humanitarian programs for women are disproportionately underfunded.168 Another gap is that while these workshops provide women with education and training, they do not always provide the needed resources. For example, they may teach a woman how to generate and manage an income, but they do not provide the woman with a job. In addition, workshops for women should go beyond providing educational and financial resources and provide psychological and social training, and few currently do so.169 Lastly, educational workshops can empower women by helping them gain skills and education, but they have no power to affect the laws and cultural perceptions that currently inhibit a woman's personal growth and success. Achieving full empowerment for Ugandan women will take years of work on both governmental and local levels, including community wide training to change the laws and perceptions around women owning land and property, providing for the household, and gaining employment.170 Due to these gaps in the process, it can be difficult to measure the overall impact from the practice. The practice would benefit from performing impact assessment evaluations and incorporating randomized control trials.
Although general educational workshops are better than nothing, women need gender-specific approaches to thrive. The World Bank, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), and IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) are three highly respected international organizations and they agree that failing to analyze and address gender inequalities results in “misguided projects and programs, forgone agricultural output, and income, food and nutrition insecurity” and “affects not only marginalized women and their families, but also the flow of quality goods, transparency in markets or business relations, and hence incomes for all.”171 In addition, equality in education between spouses is more important for women’s empowerment than each individual’s average level of education.172 Therefore, workshops should be more focused on educating women to the same level as their husbands than splitting the time evenly between spouses.
The Hunger Project
The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organization working to end hunger and poverty. Founded in 1977, The Hunger Project has adapted and changed over the past 44 years to meet each challenge in the fight to end worldwide hunger.173 Currently, they operate in 23 different countries within Africa (including Uganda), South Asia, and Latin America.
The Hunger Project works to achieve their vision of “a world where every woman, man and child leads a healthy, fulfilling life of self-reliance and dignity”174 by acting on their mission which is “to end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world.”175 They see the value in altering the way things have been done in the past, and they place a high importance on changing humanity and empowering individuals.176 They promote self-reliance and women-centered programs through offering educational workshops in income generation, vision and action, sanitation and hygiene, food security, and HIV/AIDS and gender inequality.177 The Vision, Commitment and Action (VCA) workshops are held at the village level, and anyone who would like to participate is invited to do so. Participants create their own vision for the future, commit to achieving it, and outline necessary actions to do so. The workshop helps each person design a specific project to follow for three months using nothing but local resources. After this workshop, villages select local leaders who are trained to lead the VCA workshop for others in the area, and to facilitate the ongoing actions that stemmed from the workshop.178
The Hunger project also holds additional training for local leaders who can inspire and support local action, and the project organizes interested people into self-help groups where they can support each other. In addition to workshops, the Hunger Project works with local governments to ensure that they operate effectively, include women in leadership, are directly accountable to their people, and provide access to resources and information.179 Overall, they work to change mindsets, improve lives, and train local leaders who can then continue to reach others and grow the change effort.180
Preferred Citation: Burgin, Hannah R. “Food Insecurity among Women in Uganda.” Ballard Brief. December 2021. www.ballardbrief.byu.edu.
Viewpoints published by Ballard Brief are not necessarily endorsed by BYU or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
