Dedza community development office has expressed concern about low participation of men in nutrition related activities that have no cash incentives.
Maria Gama, the district’s community development officer, said on Monday that women are more committed to voluntary work than their male counterparts.
She was speaking in an interview after delivering a nutrition report from her office which reveals low turnout of men during development activities carried out in the past eight months.
She said: “This is a worrying trend, especially considering that men are breadwinners in most homes, meaning they are very important stakeholders in nutrition.
“Surprisingly, men outnumber women whenever there is a small allowance attached to an activity.”
Gama, however, acknowledged that the breadwinner role could be the reason men shun voluntary activities.
She said: “They would rather do piece-work that pays off immediately so they can feed their families. However, my office will look for ways of engaging more men in the promotion of [good]nutrition.”
Some of the activities the community development office carried out, according to the report, include cooking demonstrations, formation of community nutrition committees and creation of backyard gardens.—Mana
