Evidence and Gap Map of Infrastructure’s Impact on Nutritious Diet, Women’s Economic Empowerment and Gender Equality In Low-and Middle-Income Countries

The Evidence and Gap Map (EGM) is a systematic visual presentation which gathers the largest assemblage of evidence on interventions and outcomes. This EGM shows evidence of the impact of physical infrastructures on nutritious diet, women’s economic empowerment and gender equality of low-income consumers. The study population considered for this EGM are Low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. 

Physical infrastructure such as roads, electricity and marketplace foster women’s economic empowerment and gender equality; and mitigates adverse effects of seasonality on availability and affordability of nutritious food, and ensures low-income consumers including vulnerable groups (e.g., women and girls) have access to nutritious foods all year round. Hence, investments in physical infrastructure can be a pathway to meeting various SDGs. However, to guide such investments, few studies have comprehensively explored the evidence and gap on the impact of various types of infrastructure on gender and nutrition outcomes, particularly nutritious diets (ND), women’s economic empowerment (WEE), and gender equality (GE).

To address this gap, the International Centre for Evaluation and Development (ICED) developed this evidence and gap map (EGM) which is a platform of an interactive visual presentation of available relevant evidence and gaps on infrastructure’s impact on nutritious diets, women economic empowerment and gender equality. Findings of this EGM have academic and evidence-based policy implications for decision-makers in allocating scarce resources to under-researched (invested) thematic and geographical areas. The findings will inform evidence-based decision-making products (EBDMPs) such as policy briefs, evidence portal, and systematic reviews and meta-analysis of primary studies. The gaps identified in the map will inform the need to commission primary studies.  

We therefore welcome you to explore our Pre-final EGM, which consist of 342 studies drawn from low- and middle-income countries across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Explore how to navigate and use the map in the “About the map” feature of the map. We will like to open this map for consultation and your invaluable feedback. Your feedback will inform our final map. Please send any questions, request and comments to us on info@iced-eval.org or gloriaobeng-amoako@iced-eval.org

Click the link to view full map: :

http://www.iced-eval.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/5-3-2023-20-52.html

A team of experts led by Dr. David Ameyaw created the map. Thanks to the team: Dr. Gloria A. Odei Obeng-Amoako, Prof. Takyiwaa Manuh, Dr. Pacem Kotchofa, Ms.Clarice Panyin Nyan, Mr. Edward Kusi Asafo-Agyei, Dr. Charles Yaw Okyere, Dr. Solomon Zena Walelign, Dr. Joseph Clottey and Dr. Sheila Agyeman Oppong.

We acknowledge the technical support of Dr (s). Howard White, Ashrita Saran and Suchi Malhotra of the Campbell Collaboration. This project was made possible due to the funding support we received from Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation (BMGF).