Title : Nutrition trade-offs with rural cold storage innovation: a case study of solar powered freezers in Solomon Islands
Abstract:
Access to electricity can help tackle many global development challenges, yet evidence of its impact on nutritional outcomes remains sparse. Electrifying many parts of the Pacific Islands remains a significant challenge. The Pacific has undergone a nutrition transition generating elevated double burdens of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. Solar energy and cold storage solutions has the potential to transform rural food systems in Solomon Islands.
We test the hypothesis that solar powered freezers will generate positive changes in dietary patterns among rural women using women’s minimum dietary diversity (MDD-W) methodology and logbooks of freezer storage. Data was collected just prior to freezer starting (T1) and then 12 months later (T2). For the paired sample, 32% of women achieved adequate dietary diversity at T1 and there was no significant change at T2 (14%, t (21) = 1.25, p = 0.225). Aquatic foods were frequently consumed before and after freezer introduction. Eggs, dairy, nuts and seeds, and pulses and legumes remained almost absent in diets. A large percentage of freezer logbook entries pertained to water or other sugary beverages as well as fatty processed meats. The theory of change to transform food systems towards better diets and nutrition with cold storage is not supported by this study. Results highlight the difficulty of improving nutritional outcomes in the Pacific, and the risk of contributing to a nutrition transition that had resulted in severe public health consequences across the region.
