This report presents objective findings on the current levels of nutrition integration in international instruments and guidelines, and national legislations, regulations and procedures. Nutrition is only integrated in a few examples. Many laws, instruments and codes were developed before worker malnutrition was as prominent an issue and before newer scientific evidence emerged linking worker performance to improved nutrition. This new context, married with the evidence in this report, highlights the enormous opportunity presented to future labour standard setting for employees and employers.
Drawing on GAIN’s evidence-based four pillar framework for effective workforce nutrition programmes and prior experience in India's tea sector, a workforce nutrition programme was proposed, designed and implemented for tea estate workers and their families on 12 tea estates throughout the country. The programme was implemented between February 2021 and March 2023 in collaboration with the Ethical Tea Partnership
GAIN saw an opportunity to establish a workforce nutrition programme designed and implemented for both tea farmers and employed labourers of tea farms in four tea factories in Kericho County, Kenya. The programme was implemented between January 2020 and December 2022 in collaboration with the Ethical Tea Partnership, and aimed to reached 26,000 workers.
Enhancing nutrition for India’s working-age population through workforce nutrition practices can yield numerous benefits, including improved well-being for workers and their families, better productivity, and a stronger economy. Key pillars include access to healthy food, breastfeeding support, nutrition health checks, and nutrition education.
Poor diets are the leading cause of global ill health, resulting in malnutrition and deficiencies such as anaemia, decreased energy levels, diminished health, and decreased productivity. A diverse diet containing a wide variety of food types is more likely to provide the vitamins and minerals needed for good health, to boost brain and body development, and bolster resistance to infections. However, in 2021, more than 3.1 billion people in the world—or 42 percent of the global population—were unable to afford a healthy diet. Tea workers and farmers, predominantly women, often contend with high rates of malnutrition due to diets lacking essential nutrients. Healthy Diets for Tea Communities is a public-private collaboration between the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), and eight leading tea companies, which aims to promote healthy diets in tea supply chains in India, Malawi, and Kenya. This document summarises programme results in Kenya.
Global tea production totals over USD 17 billion annually, and the sector continues to grow. In many countries, the tea sector contributes significantly to income and employment for millions of rural families, with smallholder farmers producing 60 percent of world production. However, tea workers and farmers often suffer from high malnutrition rates because their diets, which consist largely of staple foods such as rice, bread, maize, and wheat, often lack foods rich in essential nutrients and vitamins needed for good health. Nutritious foods are often less affordable and available to this population, and they may be less aware of the importance of healthy diets. In Assam State, one of the main tea-producing states in India, 18 percent of women are underweight, 66 percent of women are anaemic, and 15 percent of women are overweight.
Poor diets are the leading cause of global ill health, resulting in malnutrition and deficiencies such as anaemia, decreased energy levels, diminished health, and decreased productivity. A diverse diet containing a wide variety of food types is more likely to provide the vitamins and minerals needed for good health, to boost brain and body development, and bolster resistance to infections. However, in 2021, more than 3.1 billion people in the world—or 42 percent of the global population—were unable to afford a healthy diet. Tea workers and farmers, predominantly women, often contend with high rates of malnutrition due to diets lacking essential nutrients. Healthy Diets for Tea Communities is a public-private collaboration between the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), and eight leading tea companies, which aims to promote healthy diets in tea supply chains in India, Malawi, and Kenya. This document summarises programme results in Malawi between 2020 and 2023.
In 2021, more than 3.1 billion people in the world – or 42 per cent of the global population – were unable to afford a healthy diet. Tea workers and farmers, predominantly women, often contend with high rates of malnutrition due to diets lacking essential nutrients. Healthy Diets for Tea Communities is a public-private collaboration between the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, the Ethical Tea Partnership and eight leading tea companies which aims to promote healthy diets in tea supply chains in India, Malawi, and Kenya. Between 2020 and 2023, the programme reached 734,075 people, increasing the percentage of women in the programme eating minimally diverse, nutritious diets – 5 out of 10 food groups – in all three countries. The documents below summarise the programme’s impact in Assam, Kenya and Malawi.
The objective of this working paper is to reflect on current programmatic approaches that aim to improve access to and demand for healthier diets via employer delivery mechanisms in factory settings.
The objective of this working paper is to reflect on current programmatic approaches that aim to improve access and demand for nutritious foods via employer delivery mechanisms in farm settings.
