A black dog enters the home : hunger and malnutrition in Malawi

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dc.contributor.author Dressel, Anne
dc.contributor.author Mkandawire, Elizabeth
dc.contributor.author Mkandawire-Valhmu, Lucy
dc.contributor.author Dyke, Elizabeth
dc.contributor.author Bisai, Clement
dc.contributor.author Kantayeni, Hazel
dc.contributor.author ako, Peninnah K
dc.contributor.author Ochoa-Nordstrum, Brittany
dc.date.accessioned 2022-05-24T09:08:11Z
dc.date.available 2022-05-24T09:08:11Z
dc.date.issued 2021-09
dc.description.abstract Hunger and inadequate nutrition are ongoing concerns in rural Malawi and are exemplified in traditional proverbs. Traditional proverbs and common expressions offer insight into commonly held truths across societies throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Strong oral traditions allow community beliefs embodied in proverbs to be passed down from generation to generation. In our qualitative study, we conducted 8 individual and 12 focus group interviews with a total of 83 participants across two districts in rural central Malawi with the aim of soliciting context-specific details on men and women’s knowledge, attitudes and practices related to nutrition, gender equality and women’s empowerment. Each interview began by asking participants to share common proverbs related to nutrition. Our qualitative analysis, informed by an indigenous-based theoretical framework that recognises and centres African indigenous knowledge production, yielded six themes: ’a black dog enters the home’, ’don’t stay with your hands hanging’, ’a man is at the stomach’, ’showers have fallen’, ’we lack peace in our hearts’ and ’the hunger season’. Traditional proverbs can provide insight into the underlying causes of hunger and malnutrition. Physicians, nurses and other allied health professionals around the world have a role to play in addressing hunger and malnutrition, which have been exacerbated by climate change. We have an ethical duty to educate ourselves and others, and change our behaviours, to mitigate the root causes of climate change, which are contributing to food insecurity and resultant poor health outcomes in countries like Malawi. en_US
dc.description.department Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development en_US
dc.description.librarian am2022 en_US
dc.description.sponsorship CARE’s Southern African Nutrition Initiative (SANI), a project undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada. en_US
dc.description.uri Https://mh.bmj.com en_US
dc.identifier.citation Dressel A, Mkandawire E, Mkandawire-Valhmu L, et al. A black dog enters the home: Hunger and malnutrition in Malawi. Medical Humanities 2021;47:e8. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1468-215X (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1473-4265 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1136/medhum-2020-012130
dc.identifier.uri https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/85645
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher BMJ Publishing Group en_US
dc.rights © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021 en_US
dc.subject Hunger en_US
dc.subject Nutrition en_US
dc.subject Traditional proverbs en_US
dc.subject Malawi en_US
dc.title A black dog enters the home : hunger and malnutrition in Malawi en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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