{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]],"date-time":"2026-10-20T15:05:50Z","timestamp":1792508750803,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,28]],"date-time":"2021-11-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1638057600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Although water insecurity has been discussed in general, its impacts on mothers\u2019 physical and mental health, and infants\u2019 and young children\u2019s feeding (IYCF), has largely been ignored. This study explores household water insecurity experiences and their association with optimal health and nutrition of women and children in the Rajanpur district of Punjab Province. Using focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informants (KIIs) interviews from an area with high maternal-child malnutrition prevalence, a qualitative study was conducted to describe local experiences of water acquirement and arrangement, and of the consequences of water insecurity. The findings highlight that rural Western marginalized populations of the Rajanpur district rely on brackish, canal, or flood surface water as the water supply is absent, which intensifies mothers\u2019 work burden and stress, and often makes them victims of violence, stigma, and sickness. Water fetching impacts women in unforeseen ways, impacting the psychosocial and physical health of mothers engaged in maternal breastfeeding. Water insecurity, originally rooted in regional disparities, compounds with gender inequities, which leads to maternal stress and child sickness. Justice in water resources is imperative and urgent in the deprived South of Punjab province for improving public health nutrition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph182312534","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,30]],"date-time":"2021-11-30T04:48:37Z","timestamp":1638247717000},"page":"12534","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":36,"title":["A Qualitative Exploration in Causes of Water Insecurity Experiences, and Gender and Nutritional Consequences in South-Punjab, Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4668-2882","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Farooq","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"},{"name":"Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Shahid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Insurance and Economics, University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Insurance and Economics, University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), Beijing 100029, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9148-3508","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Madeeha Gohar","family":"Qureshi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1226-8971","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sidra","family":"Zia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Researcher, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saireen","family":"Fatima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fazaia Medical College, Air University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100091, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"United Nations (2020, August 10). 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