RGS-SA-2025-6027- Invisible Work, Visible Malnutrition: A Care-ful Approach to Social Protection and Nutrition

By theorising the interlinkages between care work and nutrition, this paper constructs a framework for how care-ful social protection measures can address this nexus. It argues that the unequal distribution of care work, rooted in entrenched social norms that further invisibilise care, constitutes a significant barrier to effective social protection interventions that address malnutrition. Adopting a feminist analytical framework, the paper highlights the paradoxical neglect of caregivers' own nutritional needs and mandates incorporation of a gendered and care-sensitive lens to address the multifaceted problems of nutrition and care.