Rosa Castro Zarzur

Senior Economist, American Institutes for Research (AIR), USA

Abstract Title:

Assessing the Food and Nutrition Environment of Women and Children in Six Sub-Saharan African Countries: Baseline Evidence from the CASCADE Nutrition Program

Biography:

Rosa Castro-Zarzur is an economist with more than 10 years of experience evaluating food security and nutrition programs in low- and middle-income countries. Her current work includes a quasi-experimental impact evaluation of the Philippines Multisectoral Nutrition Project, which aims to reduce stunting in children under five; the evaluation of the CASCADE nutrition program in six sub-Saharan African countries; and two multiarmed experimental evaluations of a programme promoting the uptake of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato in Tanzania to reduce Vitamin A deficiency in mothers and young children. She holds a PhD in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Maryland and an MPP from the University of Chicago.

Research Interests:

Malnutrition remains a critical challenge in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where nutrient deficiencies and child stunting persist at high rates. Its drivers are deeply intertwined: poverty, infectious disease burden, inadequate maternal and child health services, environmental shocks including droughts and conflict, low agricultural biodiversity, and limited maternal knowledge of infant and young child feeding practices. Recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have further eroded incomes and increased food prices, deepening food insecurity. The CASCADE program addresses these challenges in six SSA countries by seeking to increase access to and consumption of healthy diets particularly among women of reproductive age (WRA) and children and to strengthen household resilience to economic and climate-related shocks, working across policy, services, community, gender, and coordination domains. This paper presents findings from a multi-country baseline study conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to guide the refinement of CASCADE activities. Results confirm accurate program targeting: across all six countries, approximately half of WRA consume minimally diverse diets, and most live in moderately or severely food-insecure households. While most households engage in agricultural production, production diversity is low averaging fewer than three crops, typically a cereal, a legume, and a root or tuber with very limited cultivation of fruits and vegetables. Most women achieve adequate empowerment in production, income, and leadership, though specific indicators show room for improvement. Access to nutrition information and services remains scarce. These findings underscore the need for integrated interventions that jointly strengthen dietary diversity, agricultural production, women's empowerment, and nutrition services.