The effect of women's nutrition knowledge and empowerment on child nutrition outcomes in rural Ethiopia

Child malnutrition remains widespread in Ethiopia. Women's nutrition knowledge and empowerment are emphasized as key impact pathways for nutrition-sensitive programs and interventions. This paper examines effects of women's nutrition knowledge and empowerment on child nutrition outcomes using survey data from rural Ethiopia. Employing econometric strategies that account for potential endogeneity concerns, nutrition knowledge, and empowerment are found to have strong and significant effects on children's dietary diversity and stunting. Their interaction is significantly correlated only with stunting, perhaps suggesting the importance of the interaction between nutrition knowledge and empowerment for long-term nutrition outcomes. A disaggregated analysis of empowerment reveals that empowering women in household agricultural decisions and increasing their access to and control of economic resources are more promising for improving child nutrition. Overall, the findings suggest that efforts targeting to improve child nutrition in Ethiopia need to be complemented by efforts to improve women's nutrition knowledge and empowerment.