Organised on Dcember 9, 2005 in collaboration with the Centre for Micro Finance (CMF) in Chennai, this consulation was aimed at exploring linkages between practitioners in the field of health and nutrition and MFIs to explore the possibilities of integration from two perspectives: (1) Improving the adverse health and nutrition outcomes of MFI clients and their households, thereby impacting capacity and economic productivity in the short and long terms and (2) Partnering with MFIs as rapidly scaling community-based structures with well-developed networks, systems, local knowledge and influence to integrate effective health and nutrition strategies, especially Behaviour Change Communication.
Given the local contexts within which MFIs operate, and the nature of their reach and engagement with individual women and their households, the consultation explored the potential of interventions designed to address the more proximate factors affecting household health production (nutrition and health-related knowledge, for instance, and intra-household food preparation and consumption), in addition to possible roles that MFIs can play in improving access to primary health services.
The Consultation made a strong case to MFIs for integrating health and the case for potential returns to even relatively small investments in nutrition was particularly well made. However, there was a general sense that interventions might require a great deal of tailoring to each MFI.
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