Thomson Reuters Foundation: OPINION: How women hold the power to end malnutrition in the Sahel
Peter Gubbels, co-founder of Groundswell International and director of Action Learning and Advocacy for West Africa

“…Women, as wives and mothers, are the invisible hand that shape a family’s nutrition and diets in the Sahel. Yet, in a region largely reliant on family farming, they are often excluded from decision-making, and deprived of the means to produce food, or earn an income. … But, studies have found that women, once empowered through land and credit, invest into improving the health, well-being, and education of their families, much more than their male counterparts. If women across the Sahel had their own land to farm, as well as the knowledge of a diverse and nutritious diet, they would be able to greatly improve the nutrition and health of their families as well as the wider community. … At the very least, farming families should be able to improve nutrition from their land and locally produced nutrient-rich crops. This, more often than not, starts with women. If she is given the right tools, knowledge and resources to do so, her entire family and the wider community benefit” (12/16).