The effect of women decision deprivation on child nutrition in Benin

Résumé

Malnutrition, especially among children, and gender equality remain problematic in most parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. This paper aims at examining how women decision deprivation affects child nutritional status in Benin. Using nationally representative data from the 2018 Benin DHS, this study employed OLS and logistic regression models for the multivariate analyses part. Findings show that 14.36% of children are stunted, 12.29% are underweight and 3.85% are wasted. Also, women decision deprivation is child nutrition reducing and has a significant negative impact on Height-for-age z-score (HAZ) and Weight-for-age z-score (WAZ). However, none effect has been identified on Weight-for-Height z-score (WHZ). These findings imply that women empowerment through decision making may be incoporated as part of national nutrition strategy.