Tadesse Aweke, Li Kenan, Helton Jesse, Huang Jin, Ansong David
School of Social Work, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA.
Foods. 2025 Jan 12;14(2):212. doi: 10.3390/foods14020212.
Financial inclusion can boost wealth, health, and quality of life. However, few studies have examined how women's participation in community-based financial inclusion opportunities, such as village saving and loan groups (VSLGs), relates to household food security. Using program data from central Mozambique, this study examined whether low-income women's participation in VSLGs directly increases household food availability, as well as indirectly through increased asset ownership. Employing a post-test-only comparison group quasi-experimental design, the study sampled 205 female VSLG participants and non-participants from three sub-villages in Mozambique's Sofala province. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results indicated that low-income women's participation in VSLGs is directly associated with a reduction in household hunger score (β = -0.21, < 0.01), as well as indirectly associated through the mediating role of household assets ([Sobel indirect effect] = -0.06, = 0.05). The VSLG participants showed a significant increase in household asset ownership compared to non-VSLG participants (β = 0.15, < 0.05). Further, increased asset ownership significantly correlated with a lower probability of household hunger (β = -0.30, < 0.01). The results suggest that community-based financial inclusion approaches could improve the availability of food through asset building among Mozambique's low-income women. The study offers a potential strategy for policymakers and development experts to utilize community approaches to financial inclusion to improve rural and low-income women's livelihoods.
金融包容性能够提升财富、健康水平和生活质量。然而，很少有研究探讨女性参与基于社区的金融包容性机会，如村庄储蓄和贷款小组（VSLGs），与家庭粮食安全之间的关系。本研究利用莫桑比克中部的项目数据，考察了低收入女性参与VSLGs是否直接增加家庭食物供应，以及是否通过增加资产所有权间接增加家庭食物供应。该研究采用仅后测的比较组准实验设计，从莫桑比克索法拉省的三个小村庄中抽取了205名VSLG女性参与者和非参与者作为样本。结构方程模型（SEM）结果表明，低收入女性参与VSLGs与家庭饥饿得分的降低直接相关（β = -0.21，< 0.01），并且通过家庭资产的中介作用间接相关（[索贝尔间接效应] = -0.06， = 0.05）。与非VSLG参与者相比，VSLG参与者的家庭资产所有权显著增加（β = 0.15，< 0.05）。此外，资产所有权的增加与家庭饥饿概率的降低显著相关（β = -0.30，< 0.01）。结果表明，基于社区的金融包容性方法可以通过莫桑比克低收入女性的资产建设来提高食物供应。该研究为政策制定者和发展专家提供了一种潜在策略，以利用社区金融包容性方法来改善农村和低收入女性的生计。
