Mbiro Kudakwashe A, Ndlovu Thabo
Institute of Development Studies, Faculty of Commerce, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Jamba. 2021 Oct 28;13(1):1043. doi: 10.4102/jamba.v13i1.1043. eCollection 2021.
The prevalence of malnutrition in children below the age of 5 years in rural Zimbabwe, resulting from low income and the inability to meet food and medical expenses, marks huge disparities between rich and poor households. Efforts to improve child health and nutrition status culminated in different strategies being employed, chief amongst them is the enhancement of access to financial capital for vulnerable communities through improved women participation in village savings and loan (VSL). The study sought to examine the influence of women's participation in VSL and its impact on child health and nutrition in rural Chimanimani. Arnstein's Ladder of Participation and the United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) framework anchor discussions on the participation of women, VSL financial resources usage by women, contribution of VSL to food diversity for children and ultimately to food consumption patterns before and during women's participation in VSL. The study was largely qualitative and explored the descriptive research design to collect data by using semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The findings show that the majority of participants used funds from VSL to purchase food, invest in income-generating activities and finance medical expenses. Village savings and loan contribute to an increase in food consumption score and meal dietary diversity for children, and at the same time it improved child care, health and nutrition in the rural Shinja community. The study concluded that genuine participation of women in VSL positively influenced the improvement in children's health and nutritional diversity and that the VSL model is a multifaceted tool, which can be intertwined with other interventions to contribute to the attainment of the sustainable development goals.
津巴布韦农村地区5岁以下儿童营养不良的患病率，源于低收入以及无力支付食品和医疗费用，这标志着贫富家庭之间存在巨大差距。为改善儿童健康和营养状况所做的努力最终促成了不同策略的采用，其中主要的策略是通过提高妇女对村庄储蓄和贷款（VSL）的参与度，增加弱势群体获得金融资本的机会。该研究旨在考察妇女参与VSL的情况及其对奇马尼马尼农村地区儿童健康和营养的影响。阿恩斯坦的参与阶梯理论以及联合国儿童基金会（UNICEF）的框架为关于妇女参与、妇女对VSL资金的使用、VSL对儿童食物多样性以及最终对妇女参与VSL之前和期间食物消费模式的贡献的讨论提供了依据。该研究主要采用定性研究方法，运用描述性研究设计，通过半结构化问卷和深度访谈来收集数据。研究结果表明，大多数参与者将VSL的资金用于购买食物、投资创收活动和支付医疗费用。村庄储蓄和贷款有助于提高儿童的食物消费得分和膳食多样性，同时改善了新贾农村社区的儿童照料、健康和营养状况。研究得出结论，妇女真正参与VSL对改善儿童健康和营养多样性产生了积极影响，并且VSL模式是一种多方面的工具，可以与其他干预措施相结合，为实现可持续发展目标做出贡献。
