In many countries, women make up the majority of agricultural workers but don’t reap the benefits of their labor.
Women and girls account for 60% of the people who experience hunger worldwide and even more are expected to go hungry as rates of food insecurity increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. When families experience economic hardship or face conflict, women and girls are usually the first to sacrifice their food even though they work harder to secure meals for the household. With limited incomes and lack of consistent access to adequate food, women and girls’ specific nutritional needs often go unmet even though they are responsible for feeding the rest of their families.
Ensuring that girls and women have enough to eat not only improves their nutrition but also helps keep them in school and increase their employment opportunities, benefiting future generations. Investing in women farmers and the nutrition of women and girls is key to achieving gender equality and food security for all.
Here are six organizations to support with programs dedicated to addressing the women’s hunger crisis head-on.
1. The Hunger Project
Global nonprofit the Hunger Project is committed to ending world hunger sustainability through programs in Arica, South Asia, and Latin America. The Hunger Project is helping end poverty and hunger by prioritizing grassroots women-centered approaches such as holding educational sessions to teach mothers about the importance of child nutrition and employing women at nutritional food packet processing factories in Senegal.
#Didyouknow, if women in rural areas had the same access to agricultural assets, education and markets as men, agricultural production could be increased, and the number of people experiencing hunger could be reduced by 100-150 million? #RuralWomen are powerful!
— The Hunger Project (@HungerProject) October 15, 2021
2. Care
The international humanitarian organization Care is dedicated to ending poverty and ensuring everyone can live with dignity. Part of Care’s mission is to improve the nutrition and food security of 50 million vulnerable people. The She Feeds the World program specifically works to improve the food security and nutrition of rural households with an emphasis on women small-scale farmers. Women who are beneficiaries of the program are building their skills in sustainable agriculture practices and learning to engage in the market.
The world is facing an unprecedented #hunger crisis and the lives of millions hang in the balance. SPEAK UP and urge U.S. Congress to provide robust funding for global #food assistance: https://t.co/XFxcsxtI2wpic.twitter.com/KGvKwkJOL5
— CARE (care.org) (@CARE) June 22, 2021
3. Project Concern International (PCI)
Global development organization PCI is committed to ensuring that women and farmers can access the education, resources, and partnerships necessary to generate income, improve health, and foster economic empowerment within their families and communities. Working across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, PCI is invested in assisting women and girls to build assets and the income needed to overcome recurring stressors and crises.
4. World Central Kitchen
Founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the NGO World Central Kitchen provides meals during emergencies. The organization has carried out meal distribution programs in Cambodia, Peru, Cuba, Nicaragua, Zambia, Uganda, the Dominican Republic, and The Bahamas. World Central Kitchen also installs water lines and sinks in impoverished communities to allow women to cook and clean more easily and safely.
WCK's @chefjoseandres met Angeles while delivering meals to a shelter in Tijarafe on La Palma. Angeles is a teacher & was making tomato jam at her home in Tajuya when she heard the volcano erupt. With her sister, she drove north to the shelter where they've been staying since. pic.twitter.com/e7gjVTNmSr
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) September 27, 2021
5. Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is committed to finding better ways to deal with hunger globally and treats and prevents malnutrition across more than 45 countries. Action Against Hunger often works with women in communities first as they are the most aware of malnutrition needs in their family and can help introduce changes. The organization also works with fathers and community leaders to address traditional gender roles and encourage the redistribution of unpaid care work.
6. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
A Global Citizen partner, IFAD is a specialized UN agency and international financial institution that works with governments worldwide to invest in rural communities and achieve the Global Goals. Half of the participants in the projects IFAD supports are women. The organization’s programs and projects help women farmers scale their crops, connect to markets, increase their profit, become more literate and gain financial skills.
Check out how Hasaneya's bakery is empowering rural women in her community in #Egypt 🙌 #InvestInRuralWomenhttps://t.co/2uOiK3PwkV
— International Fund for Agricultural Development (@IFAD) October 23, 2021