Côte d'Ivoire
Work burden of Ivorian women studied

afrol News, 28 October - A new study, conducted in Côte d'Ivoire, has found that women there need more energy than men based on their work burden. The study not surprisingly confirms that rural African women have a tougher work burden than they are nutritially rewarded for within the family.

The study focuses on the work burden of women in Côte d'Ivoire in Africa. The research determined how work energy is distributed in this population during a part of the agricultural year. The study found that women performed all the domestic tasks as well as working in agriculture; men worked only in agriculture. As a result, during the season studied, the women worked two to three hours more per day than men and so needed 30 percent more energy than had been thought previously. 

Researchers observed the work practices of 1,787 women and 1,565 men over a seven-day period in the Northern Savane, West Forest, and East Forest regions of Côte d'Ivoire, which is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans and palm oil. 

The study encompassed a full range of agricultural activities, including hunting, crop tending, harvesting, food gathering, tree felling, sowing, planting and land clearing. 

The study, which was published in the 26 October issue of 'Science', was led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO claims the report "sets the stage for development of a model to research nutritional needs of women throughout the world."

- This study will provide an ongoing model to research nutritional needs of people in other countries, particularly in the Third World, says James Levine, M.D., a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist. 

- With research such as this, we hope to have a better understanding of the different nutrition needs of women in specific parts of the world, paving the way to alter economic and nutritional support, says Barbara Burlingame, Ph.D., senior nutrition officer in FAO's Food and Nutrition Division. 

- Results such as these assist in determining the energy requirements of women and are used in reviews such as the Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation on Energy in Human Nutrition which is presently meeting in Rome, says Robert Weisell, Ph.D., FAO nutrition officer. 

FAO estimates that 815 million individuals throughout the world experience inadequate nutrition and an insufficient food supply 

Sources: Based on FAO

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