Beyond food insecurity: Social norms, everyday household practices and child malnutrition in Tanzania

Manuscript submitted to Maternal and Child Nutrition Journal

Abstract: Child malnutrition, particularly stunting, remains high in Tanzania. The problem is particularly in the southern highlands, where most of the country's food is produced. This article explores how social norms and everyday household practices contribute to child malnutrition in Tanzania, drawing on qualitative insights from the Njombe region. To achieve this objective, the study draws on qualitative insights from nutrition officers (n=6) and community health workers (n=12), as well as observations. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and were analysed thematically. The study revealed that gender roles in childcare, cultural food taboos, postpartum restrictions on women and cultural practices on food distribution among family members are among the social norms driving child malnutrition in the study site. Additionally, everyday household practices such as women’s entrepreneurial culture, infrequent feeding of children, inappropriate complementary feeding, food culture and inadequate dietary diversity and child abandonment, particularly among the young women, further exacerbate child malnutrition in the study site. These findings demonstrate that child malnutrition in agroecological zones cannot be explained by food availability alone but is embedded in daily household practices and social norms. The study highlights the need for culturally informed, gender-responsive, and family-inclusive interventions to effectively address child malnutrition.

Keywords: child malnutrition, undernutrition, social norms, everyday practices, southern highlands, Tanzania