The importance of investing in education, nutrition and gender in international development.

The Importance of Investing in Education, Nutrition and Gender in International Development
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Abstract
The international community has made it their priority to encourage and support other nations to invest in education, nutrition, and gender. Notable is the fact that relevant education has significantly contributed to empowering the people and also create various employment opportunities for them. It has also helped to improve the purchasing power and the living standards of many households. Most importantly, it has reduced the mortality rates and that has occasioned the gradual elimination of gender disparity in the world today. As a short-term measure of economic progress, investing in nutrition has also improved the health status, nutrition status and economic productivity in different nations. It has equally enhanced individuals’ learning potential, as well as their immune systems, a change that has significantly reduced susceptibility to some infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis. In the light of all these, different nations should invest in gender to provide the men and women of this world with equal access to education, healthcare and other basic amenities, which are the core fibers of international growth. In this paper, a detailed theoretical perspective on the importance of education and nutrition in regards to gender is provided.

The Importance of Investing in Education, Nutrition and Gender in International Development.
Oniang’o & Mukudi (2002) affirm that investing in education, nutrition and gender are universally acknowledged to be very critical in international development.

In fact, these issues have developed to be some of the top priorities of the international community. According to the former United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan, educating people is not an option, but a necessity in the contemporary world. A country that invests in education empowers its citizens and also increases their subsequent earnings by expanding the chances for future job opportunities. It also offers some other benefits such as increased productivity, improved health, low mortality rates, and better living standards among the people (Glewwe, 2013). The case is also relatively similar while investing in nutrition. Nutrition helps to reduce the vulnerability to diet deficiencies, improve the learning potential and also human productivity, which is essential for a country’s economic progress. Above all, the women in this world should be allowed to have equal access to such amenities. That is attainable with increased investment in gender across the world. In this paper, the significance of investing in the above issues is clearly elaborated.
First, education has got multiple benefits to individual persons and the international community. Over the years investing in education has focused on access and parity. That led to improved enrollment and retention, and as a result, enabled the learners to realize the benefits of education. Notably, investing in education improves productivity and facilitates the achievement of most development goals. Recent studies have shown that those countries that have employed adequate investments in education, have got better economic prospects. The women in these countries have also been proven to have healthier children and are more likely to ensure that that they send those children to school (Psacharopoulos & Woodhall, 1993). A recent report prepared by the USAID also hints development, productivity and economic growth as some of the primary benefits of education. In the report, the researchers assert that each year of schooling improves an individual’s output at a rate of 7 percent. That implies that countries with improved literacy levels of over 20 percent are likely to have an increase in their gross domestic product (GDP) by over 15 percent (Heckman, 2011). Educating people achieves even greater results in terms of creating employment opportunities. Heckman (2011) understands that a country that has actively devoted to providing better education services is likely to create more job opportunities. Normally, in this countries, the system of learning is relatively inclined to entrepreneurship and innovations. Students are provided with the knowledge and skills to create their own enterprises. Those enterprises, therefore, open doors by creating more job opportunities and also benefit the economy through tax contributions.
Apart from education, investing in nutrition also contributes significantly to the progress of the international community. Poor nutrition in the early life of a child reduces his or her learning potential (Ruel & Hoddinott, 2008). It also leads to diet deficiencies that pose a lot of health risk. Among them, include maternal health risks and productivity, which leads to the diminishing the ability of women to access other assets in life (Ecker, Al-Riffai, Breisinger & El-Batrawy, 2016). Consequently, such situations undermine the efforts that are made to eradicate gender inequality. With investment in proper nutrition, such issues become things of the past. On account of good health, Copenhagen consensus has proved that supplementation and fortification in the human diet are the most efficient ways of improving people’s health. Relevant illustrations are the results achieved by a local-based food security intervention program based in Bangladesh, Helen Keller Home Garden Program (Oniang’o & Mukudi, 2002). This program improved the nutritional and health status of women. Also, investing in nutrition can provide health benefits to those infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. It provides them with the necessary nutrients that boost their immunity, since most of this people have low levels of serum micronutrients (Oniang’o & Mukudi, 2002). Besides, investing in proper nutrition helps reduce the susceptibility to other acute infections such as Tuberculosis. Nations that heavily invest in providing better nutrition for their citizen, relatively face the issue of gender parity. When girls get access to proper nutrition, their learning potential, reproductive health and productivity are improved. That helps them to leverage their skills in the international space (Moghadam, 2007). The most educated women get to participate in politics and other productive sectors of the economy, and in that way, the burden of the gender gap is reduced.
Certainly, gender inequality is bad to all. The variations range from access to education, health care, job opportunities and control of assets. In many nations, the importance of investing in gender has been overlooked, and that has resulted in severe effects on the women’s ability to take care of their families. Investing in gender through provisions of better education, healthcare and job opportunities have got the great economic relevance. A report published by the international monetary fund (IMF), “women work and the economy, ” indicate that closing gender gaps in the labor market can increase the GDP of the United States by 5 percent. The same can also happen in Egypt by 34 percent and the United Arab Emirates by 12 percent (Quinlan & VanderBrug, 2016). The greater participation of women will also extend benefits to their families and the society.
To conclude, investing in education, nutrition and gender are not only beneficial to individual persons, but also to the host countries and the international community as a whole. Provision of relevant education can empower people and create job opportunities in a nation. As a short-term indicator in assessing a country’s economic growth, investing in nutrition can also result in better human health and economic development. Different countries should, therefore, focus on improving education, nutrition and genders status for their citizens to enable them to develop their communities. In that case, women should be of specific interest.

References
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