ABSTRACT
Prior studies have theorized resource insecurity in terms of human experiences of food and water insecurity and the coping mechanisms at the individual and household levels. This theorization is limited in its composition, as it does not draw adequate attention to the extent to which such insecurities exacerbate the health equity gap. Therefore, this chapter aims to: 1) extend resource insecurity to reflect the triad of food, water and energy insecurity at the household and individual levels, and 2) discuss how the co-occurrence of these insecurities further worsens the health and economic consequences experienced by women. Following a critical analysis of the extant literature, this chapter is presented in four sections: (a) conceptualization of resource insecurity by considering the common interacting components of food, water, and energy insecurity at the household level; (b) identification of the different ways by which consequences of this triad (disease, nutrition, economic, and psychosocial) affect males and females in low- and middle-income countries; (c) discuss the individual and syndemic effects of resource insecurity in perpetuating a cycle of poverty and gendered inequalities in health, and; (d) identify possible strategies that could be used to ameliorate these effects. In summary, this chapter will extend our understanding of how resource insecurity contributes to gendered inequalities in health.
