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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Kalyani Raghunathan

Kalyani Raghunathan is Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit, based in New Delhi, India. Her research lies at the intersection of agriculture, gender, social protection, and public health and nutrition, with a specific focus on South Asia and Africa. 

Where we work

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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The University of Oxford is a world-renowned institution of teaching and research. The Oxford Martin School seeks to addresses global challenges such as climate change, disease and inequality. The Oxford Martin School supports novel, high risk and multidisciplinary projects to garner results to improve the future. The school develops policy recommendations and works with a range of stakeholders to translate them into action.

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Publications

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Journal Article

Individual interventions, collective lessons: Developing mid-range theory on women’s groups to improve health

2024Desai, Sapna; Kumar, Neha; Gram, Lu; Hazra, Avishek; Sanyal, Kaliat Ammu; Sivaram, Sharmada
Details

Individual interventions, collective lessons: Developing mid-range theory on women’s groups to improve health

Background Interventions with women’s groups have been widely implemented to improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income settings, particularly India. While there is a large evidence base on the effectiveness of single interventions, it is challenging to predict whether a women’s group intervention delivered in one setting can be expected to work in another. Methods We applied realist principles to develop and refine a mid-range theory on the effectiveness of women’s groups interventions, summarised key lessons for implementation, and reflected on the process. We synthesised primary data from several interventions in India, a systematic review, and an analysis of behaviour change techniques. We developed mid-range theories across three areas: maternal and newborn health, nutrition, and violence against women, as well as an overarching mid-range theory on how women’s groups can improve health. Results Our overarching mid-range theory suggested that effective interventions should: build group or community capabilities; focus on health outcomes relevant to group members; and approach health issues modifiable through women’s individual or collective actions. We identified four key lessons for future interventions with women’s groups, including the importance of skilled and remunerated facilitation, sufficient intensity, supply-side strengthening, and the need to adapt delivery during scale up while maintaining fidelity to intervention theory. Conclusions Our experience demonstrated the feasibility of developing mid-range theory from a combination of evidence and insights from practice. It also underscored the importance of community engagement and ongoing research to ‘thicken’ mid-range theories to design effective and scalable women’s groups interventions in India and similar settings.

Year published

2024

Authors

Desai, Sapna; Kumar, Neha; Gram, Lu; Hazra, Avishek; Sanyal, Kaliat Ammu; Sivaram, Sharmada

Citation

Desai, Sapna; Kumar, Neha; Gram, Lu; Hazra, Avishek; Sanyal, Kaliat Ammu; Sivaram, Sharmada et al. 2024.Individual interventions, collective lessons: Developing mid-range theory on women’s groups to improve health. Journal of Global Health 14. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.14.04152

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Women; Health; Low Income Groups; Behaviour; Nutrition; Maternal and Child Health; Violence

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.14.04152 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

The rapid rise in domestic value chains of nutrient-dense foods (fruits, vegetables, and animal products) in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policy implications

2023Reardon, Thomas; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda; Belton, Ben; Dolislager, Michael; Minten, Bart; Popkin, Barry M.; Vos, Rob
Details

The rapid rise in domestic value chains of nutrient-dense foods (fruits, vegetables, and animal products) in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policy implications

Despite African consumers under-consuming nutrient dense fruits and vegetables (FV) and animal products (AP), and the farm production and supply chains of these products are fraught with constraints that keep them from operating optimally, we find abundant recent evidence of dynamism in these sectors. To wit: (1) consumption of these products in levels and shares is already substantial and growing rapidly; (2) supply of these products is growing rapidly, just not yet much faster than population growth; (3) supply growth is manifested in a number of countries by dynamic “meso booms” with diffusion of farming and growth in midstream (“Hidden Middle”) value chain segments; these booms are “grassroots” driven, without subsidy or management by government or NGOs or large companies. We reviewed recent survey-based evidence of these booms and discussed the drivers. The policy implications are the need for governments to invest in the conditions we found to be enabling these booms, that is, roads and wholesale markets and electrification and other infrastructure hard and soft.

Year published

2023

Authors

Reardon, Thomas; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda; Belton, Ben; Dolislager, Michael; Minten, Bart; Popkin, Barry M.; Vos, Rob

Citation

Reardon, Thomas; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda; Belton, Ben; Dolislager, Michael; Minten, Bart; Popkin, Barry M.; and Vos, Rob. 2023. The rapid rise in domestic value chains of nutrient-dense foods (fruits, vegetables, and animal products) in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policy implications. Rethinking Food Markets Initiative Technical Paper 1. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136841

Keywords

Africa; Supply Chains; Foods; Agricultural Production; Vegetables; Nutrients; Fruits; Infrastructure; Consumers; Farm Production; Food

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136841 Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

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Brief

Addressing Lake Beseka’s challenges: Potential solutions

2023Hettiarachchi, Upeksha
Details

Addressing Lake Beseka’s challenges: Potential solutions

Lake Beseka, a shallow saline lake in the East African Rift Valley of Ethiopia, has expanded considerably since the 1960s, inundating a large land area. The lake’s expansion is a result of groundwater discharge, inflow from hot springs, and excess irrigation water entering the lake through subsurface flows

Year published

2023

Authors

Hettiarachchi, Upeksha

Citation

Hettiarachchi, Upeksha. 2023. Addressing Lake Beseka’s challenges: Potential solutions. IFPRI-REACH Project Note March 2023. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136611

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Canals; Lake Basins; Water Management; Groundwater; Irrigation; Water Quality; Saline Water; Lake Beseka

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136611 Source record

Record type

Brief

Events

Crafting the Next Generation of CGIAR Gender Research
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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October 30, 2019, 12:15 – 1:45 pm

Crafting the Next Generation of CGIAR Gender Research

How can agriculture and natural resource management advance gender equality? Asking this question rather than only its inverse — what does gender analysis bring to agriculture and natural resource management? — elevates the objective of gender equality within CGIAR, challenges boundaries in thinking about gender in agriculture, and stimulates new and creative perspectives. Gender researchers […]

Women's Land: Beyond
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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September 7, 2018, 3:00 – 4:30 pm

Women’s Land: Beyond “Access” to Rights

Discussants Moderator For most rural households, land is the most valuable asset and the foundation for agricultural production. While a large literature exists on the relationships between land tenure security, livelihoods, and poverty, most of this literature is based on household-level data, and we know little about women’s land rights. As a growing body of […]

Blogs

Addressing water governance challenges around Lake Beseka, Ethiopia: A social network approach
IFPRI Blog
 | 
February 28, 2023

Addressing water governance challenges around Lake Beseka, Ethiopia: A social network approach

By Upeksha Hettiarachchi

Examining complex relationships around a key resource.