scholarly journals Comparing measures of urban food security in Accra, Ghana

Food Security ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cascade Tuholske ◽  
Kwaw Andam ◽  
Jordan Blekking ◽  
Tom Evans ◽  
Kelly Caylor
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Poor Correlation ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Urban Food Security ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Food Insecurity Access

AbstractThe urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to expand by nearly 800 million people in the next 30 years. How this rapid urban transition is affecting household-level urban food security, and reverberating into broader food systems, is poorly understood. To fill this gap, we use data from a 2017 survey (n = 668) of low- and middle-income residents of Accra, Ghana, to characterize and compare the predictors of household-level food security using three established metrics: the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS); the Household Food Insecurity Access Prevalence (HFIAP); and the Food Consumption Score (FCS). According to HFIAP, 70% of sampled households are food insecure, but only 2% fall below acceptable thresholds measured by FCS. Only one household reported sourcing food from modern supermarkets and fewer than 3% produce food for consumption through gardening, farming, or fishing. Instead, households rely on purchased food from traditional markets, local stalls and kiosks, and street hawkers. Results from a suite of general linear models show that household assets, education, and demographic characteristics are significantly associated with food security outcomes according to HFIAS and HFIAP. The poor correlation and weak model agreement between dietary recall such as FCS, and experience-based food security metrics, like HFIAS and HFIAP, highlight limitations of employing historically rural-centric food security measurement approaches within the urban context. Given that Sub-Saharan Africa’s future is urban, our results add empirical evidence in support of the growing chorus of scholars advocating for comprehensive urban-oriented food security research and policy agendas across Sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Determinants of Household Food Insecurity and Its Association with Child Malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of the Literature

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 610-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wuyeh Drammeh ◽  
Noor Aman Hamid ◽  
A.J. Rohana
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Child Malnutrition ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Sub Saharan

Food insecurity is a global public health challenge. Household food insecurity is the leading risk factor of malnutrition, claiming approximately 300,000 deaths each year. Whether directly or indirectly, due to inadequate food consumption and poor diet quality, it is also accountable for over half of all deaths among children in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that the prevalence of food-insecure individuals in the area will reach 17 million by the year 2021. Inadequate nutrition may result in low immunity, impaired physical and mental development and reduced productivity among children under five years and throughout the life course. This review article attempts to discuss the various household food insecurity determinants and their association with child malnutrition in a Sub-Saharan Africa context. The purposes of this article are to inform governments, policymakers and service providers regarding the importance of household food security and its determinants on child malnutrition, and to plan strategies to improve the household food security status in Sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals The assessment of food security in homeless individuals: a comparison of the Food Security Survey Module and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 2254-2259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna C Holland ◽  
Matthew C Kennedy ◽  
Stephen W Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Homeless Population ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Household Food ◽  
The Us ◽  
Food Insecurity Access

AbstractObjectiveTo compare the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), the US Food Security Survey Module (US FSSM) and a modified version of the US FSSM in which references to buying food were changed to references to getting food, in terms of their classification of food security levels among homeless individuals, and to determine which of these instruments was most preferred by homeless individuals.DesignA cross-sectional survey.SettingRecruitment of participants took place at seven shelters and from three drop-in programmes that serve homeless individuals in Toronto, Canada.SubjectsFifty individuals who were ≥18 years of age, able to communicate in English and currently homeless.ResultsThe modified US FSSM assigned 20 % of participants to a lower ordinal food security category compared with the US FSSM, and only 8 % to a higher food security category. The HFIAS assigned 30 % of participants to a lower food security category compared with either the US FSSM or the modified US FSSM, and only 10–16 % of participants to a higher food security category. When asked to compare all three instruments, the majority of respondents (62 %) selected the HFIAS as the best instrument for people who are homeless.ConclusionsA majority of homeless individuals selected the HFIAS as the best food security instrument for people who are homeless. Our findings suggest that the HFIAS is a more appropriate instrument than the US FSSM for measuring food security in the homeless population.

scholarly journals Household level determinants of food insecurity in rural areas of Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (30) ◽  
pp. 1914-1926
Author(s):  
Ayalneh Bogale ◽  
◽  
Shimelis A ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Dire Dawa

Even though the struggle to achieve food security at the household level in the rural areas of Ethiopia dates back a long period, it has remained as a challenging goal even today. Making their living on marginal, moisture stressed, heavily degraded and less productive land, households in rural areas of Dire Dawa face persistent food shortages. The design and implementation of effective measures to reduce household food insecurity in the region depends on in-depth understanding of its covariates. This study seeks to address these issues by assessing location specific socio-economic factors that influence food insecurity of households in rural areas of Dire Dawa Administrative region. The analysis is based on survey data gathered from randomly selected 115 sample rural households in the study area. A binary logit model was used to identify the factors influencing household level food insecurity. A total of thirteen explanatory variables were included in the empirical model. The empirical results estimated using the survey data to identify the determinants of food insecurity among rural households in the study area revealed mixed impressions. Among variables considered , family size, annual income, amount of credit received, access to irrigation, age of household head, farm size, and livestock owned showed theoretically consistent and statistically significant effect. However, estimated coefficients of number of oxen owned and dependency ratio showed theoretically inconsistent and statistically insignificant effect on the probability of household to be food insecure.. Estimated coefficients of sex of household head, total off-farm income, education of household head and amount of food aid received were not found to be statistically significant in determining household food insecurity in the study area. The findings imply that improvement in food security situation needs to build assets, improve the functioning of rural financial markets and promote family planning. These areas could provide entry points for policy intervention to reduce hunger and augment household and community livelihood opportunities.

scholarly journals Hunger in the midst of plenty: A survey of household food security among urban families in Lagos State, Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alero Ann Roberts ◽  
James Olufemi Osadare ◽  
Victor Akpan Inem
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
National Level ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Lagos State

Research has documented that food security at national level does not translate to food security at household level. The study assessed the level of food security among urban households in Shomolu LGA, Lagos State. Using the 9-item Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) information was collected from 306 heads of households on adequacy of food availability and consumption. Data were analyzed using Epi info and presented as frequencies and percentages. Associations between variables were tested using Chisquare at a significance level of 0.05. Households were classified as food secure, food insecure without hunger and food insecure with hunger. Only 33.8% of households were food secure, 45.1% were food insecure without hunger and 21.1% were food insecure with hunger. Food secure households were statistically significantly associated with households where heads had secondary or higher education, women were married, spending <40% of household monthly income on food and living in their own homes (P=0.001). Household food insecurity is found in urban communities and is positively associated with indicators of poverty.

scholarly journals Using Household Fit Indices to Examine the Psychometric Quality of Food Insecurity Measures

2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1089-1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Engelhard ◽  
Matthew P. Rabbitt ◽  
Emily M. Engelhard
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Fit Indices ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Psychometric Quality

This study focuses on model–data fit with a particular emphasis on household-level fit within the context of measuring household food insecurity. Household fit indices are used to examine the psychometric quality of household-level measures of food insecurity. In the United States, measures of food insecurity are commonly obtained from the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM, 18 items) of the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS). These measures, in various forms, are used to inform national programs and policies related to food insecurity. Data for low-income households with children from recent administrations of the HFSSM (2012-2014) are used in this study ( N = 7,324). The results suggest that there are detectable levels of misfit with Infit mean square error (MSE) statistics ranging from 6.73 % to 21.33% and Outfit MSE statistics ranging from 5.31% to 9.68%. The data suggest for Outfit MSE statistics that (a) male respondents, (b) respondents with lower levels of education, and (c) respondents who did not report participating in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly the Food Stamp Program) tend to have more misfit. For Infit MSE statistics, lack of homeownership appears to be a predictor of misfit. The implications of this research for future research, theory, and policy related to the measurement of household food insecurity are discussed.

Sustainable agricultural intensification practices and rural food security

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 468-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iddrisu Yahaya ◽  
Krishna P. Pokharel ◽  
Abdul-Fatahi Alidu ◽  
Fred Amofa Yamoah
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Resource Degradation ◽  
Food Insecurity Access ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of participation in sustainable agricultural intensification practices (SAIPs) on household food security status in Northwestern Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The study utilised the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) indicator for the measurement of food access data from 168 households in ten communities from the Northwestern region of Ghana for the analyses. Households were categorised into participating households (treatment) and non-participating households (control). The endogenous treatment effects model was employed to evaluate the impact of participation in SAIPs training on food insecurity access scale. Findings The results show that participation in SAIPs training lowers, on average, the household food insecurity access by 2.95 points, approximately an 11 per cent reduction in HFIAS score. Other significant factors found to influence household food insecurity access scale are age of household head, experience in farming, total acres owned by household, income level of the household and occupation of the head of the household. Research limitations/implications The training programme of participation in SAIPs has massive implications for food security, rural economy and farmers’ livelihoods. However, due to the unique conditions prevailing in Northwestern Ghana, the findings of this research are limited in terms of their generalisability. Future research direction in the area of SAIPs trainings and impact study replications in all qualifying rural food production areas in Ghana, which are susceptible to household food insecurity, will provide a national picture of the efficacy of SAIPs trainings on household food insecurity. Practical implications A proven means to decrease natural resource degradation, increase crops yields, and increase subsistence farmers’ income, and food security is an important intervention to resolve the seasonal food shortage, which last for five months in a typical year for agro-food-dependent farming communities in Northwestern Ghana. Social implications Ensuring household food security improvement and environmental sustainability will help improve living standards of food producers and reduce the adverse social challenges associated with food insecure communities such as health problems due to food deficiencies, social inequalities, environmental pollution and natural resource degradation in Northwestern Ghana. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is the novel thought and approach to examine the impact of the SAIPs trainings on household food security in Northwestern Ghana using the household food insecurity access scale indicator. The study also examined the factors that affect household food security using the endogenous treatment model, which also evaluates the impact of the training programme on the outcome variable.

scholarly journals Household Food Insecurity Status and Determinants: The Case of Botswana and South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-224
Author(s):  
Simbarashe Ndhleve ◽  
Clarah Dapira ◽  
Hlekani Muchazotida Kabiti ◽  
Zibongiwe Mpongwana ◽  
Elphina Nomabandla Cishe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
The State ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Economic Infrastructure ◽  
Food Insecurity Access

This study used a survey questionnaire to investigate the state and determinants of household food security in South Africa and Botswana. In South Africa, 1557 households in two District Municipalities within Eastern Cape Province participated in the study. In Botswana, data was collected from 506 in Southern Kanye, southeast District, and Gaborone households. The paper employed Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and Prevalence to investigate the state food security across the sample population. The Household Food Insecurity Access Prevalence was used to determine the characteristics of and changes in household food insecurity of the sample households. The linear and ordinal regression analyses were carried out to outline determinants of food insecurity in the region. Findings emanating from the current study show a high prevalence of food insecurity in both countries. Meanwhile, geographical location, household size, and socio-economic infrastructure emerged as common determinants of food security for Botswana and South Africa. The paper recommends state-mediated intervention to improve access to basic socio-economic infrastructure and address unemployment rates in both countries as key areas to improve food security status.

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