scholarly journals Seasonal variability in food and nutrition security among children 0-3 years in Karamoja sub-region of Uganda

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (103) ◽  
pp. 18474-18500
Author(s):  
Christopher Muggaga ◽  
◽  
D Ongeng ◽  
B Mugonola ◽  
I Okello-Uma ◽  
...  

Optimal nutrition and good feeding of infants and young children are among the most important determinants of their health, growth and development. Due to unimodal climate in Karamoja sub-region, north eastern Uganda, achieving food security remains a development challenge in the area impacting negatively on the nutrition and health status of infants and young children. The current study, therefore, is important in providing the basis for season-based interventions to improve food and nutrition security in Karamoja sub-region. A longitudinal study involving 267 lactating mothers during harvesting season and 380 during planting season was conducted. Data were collected using Individual level Dietary Diversity questionnaire, 24-Hour Dietary Recall, and Anthropometry and were analyzed statistically. The findings indicated that except Abim district, 77.8-97.8%of the lactating mothers never attended school; 75-100% depend on subsistence farming. Lactating mothers (29.9-41.9%) introduced complementary foods to their infants at 6 months, while the age at first introduction of any food to the infant was mostly between 4-6 months. Dietary quality of complementary foods was low across all the districts; 6.7-38.9% of the children ate foods from four or more of the seven food groups in the previous day (Minimum Dietary Diversity) in both seasons. Complementary foods were characterized by plant food sources. With exception of milk and milk products, proportion of children who consumed animal-sourced foods was low, ranging from 0% in meats to 8.9% in fish and sea foods. Energy and nutrient intakes varied according to age groups of the children across districts and season. The proportion of children below -2 Z-score also varied according to districts and it is generally higher during the planting season than the harvesting season. The median of the z-scores for height-for age and Mid Upper Arm Circumference for age ranged from -1 to -2.5. In conclusion, there were variations and disparities in dietary diversity, energy and nutrient intake as well as nutrition status of infants and young children across season and districts in Karamoja sub-region of Uganda. Therefore, interventions to combat malnutrition among children 0-3 years need to take into account seasonal variations for each of the geographical locations in Karamoja sub-region.

Social Change ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-419
Author(s):  
Swati Dutta ◽  
Sunil Kumar Mishra

The level of food diversity in any household is an indicator of its healthy dietary habits. It depends on demographic and socio-economic conditions, geographic location, consumption habits and expenditure, cultural practices, income, food prices and the availability, access and utilisation of food. Against this backdrop, our study analyses the pattern of food consumption, dietary diversity, food frequency and the Recommended Dietary Allowance in 12 villages located in 6 districts of Bihar to understand the socio-economic determinants of a household’s food security. The results show that the diversity of food consumption is mainly dependent on the consumption of cereals across various socio-economic classes. Our analysis also emphasises the importance of schemes like the Public Distribution System which has a positive influence on food security outcomes of a household. The logistic regression results show that if the household belongs to the richest consumption class, with better education levels and more salaried members, then the probability of better food and nutrition security is high. In contrast, the low social status of a household, especially those from a Scheduled Caste background, will reveal reduced household food security.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 660-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thalia M Sparling ◽  
Jillian L Waid ◽  
Amanda S Wendt ◽  
Sabine Gabrysch

AbstractObjective:To quantify the relationship between screening positive for depression and several indicators of the food and nutrition environment in Bangladesh.Design:We used cross-sectional data from the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM) trial in Bangladesh to examine the association of depression in non-peripartum (NPW) and peripartum women (PW) with food and nutrition security using multivariable logistic regression and dominance analysis.Setting:Rural north-eastern Bangladesh.Participants:Women of reproductive age.Results:Of 2599 women, 40 % were pregnant or up to 1 year postpartum, while 60 % were not peripartum. Overall, 20 % of women screened positive for major depression. In the dominance analysis, indicators of food and nutrition security were among the strongest explanatory factors of depression. Food insecurity (HFIAS) and poor household food consumption (FCS) were associated with more than double the odds of depression (HFIAS: NPW OR = 2·74 and PW OR = 3·22; FCS: NPW OR = 2·38 and PW OR = 2·44). Low dietary diversity (<5 food groups) was associated with approximately double the odds of depression in NPW (OR = 1·80) and PW (OR = 1·99). Consumption of dairy, eggs, fish, vitamin A-rich and vitamin C-rich foods was associated with reduced odds of depression. Anaemia was not associated with depression. Low BMI (<18·5 kg/m2) was also associated with depression (NPW: OR = 1·40).Conclusions:Depression among women in Bangladesh was associated with many aspects of food and nutrition security, also after controlling for socio-economic factors. Further investigation into the direction of causality and interventions to improve diets and reduce depression among women in low- and middle-income countries are urgently needed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjani Kumar ◽  
Praduman Kumar ◽  
P. K. Joshi

This article examines the status, progress and challenges of managing food and nutrition security in Nepal, one of the least developed countries, by using data from the national living standards surveys conducted jointly by Government of Nepal and World Bank. Nepal, like many other developing countries, is struggling to ensure food and nutrition security. This study analyses the dimensions of food security in terms of availability, access and utilization (nutritional outcome). The analysis shows that the trends in food consumption pattern and nutritional intake have changed significantly overtime. The diversity in dietary pattern has become more apparent over time and the dietary diversity depicts a positive impact on nutritional outcome.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso ◽  
Shangao Wang ◽  
Aseres Mamo Eshetie ◽  
Xu Tian

Improving food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa’s farm households has become a prominent priority subject for researchers and policymakers alike. Interestingly, it is realized through enhancement in dietary diversity and quality. To this end, better access to food and information is considered a prerequisite. Given that mobile phone coverage offers new prospects for increasing rural households’ access to information, can informatization (mobile phone used as a concrete example) possibly influence dietary diversity and quality? Cross-sectional data collected from farm households in Zambia is used to address this topic by applying the ordinary least square and endogenous switching regression (ESR). Household dietary diversity score was constructed based on a 7-days recall approach to measure consumption patterns. Our robust regression result indicates that mobile phone use positively and significantly influences dietary diversity and quality. Particularly, gender-disaggregated regression reveals that male-headed households have stronger positive associations than their counterparts. We also find that in comparison to non-adopters, adopters consume three more foods weekly. This is attributable to the income gains and increased frequency in information access on account of mobile phone adoption. Conversely, average consumption would increase by two more foods weekly if mobile phones were adopted in non-adopting households. Therefore, our study puts forwards substantial empirical evidence to warrant policy formulation directed at promoting informatization among farm households. Eventually, this could possibly recuperate dynamism in agricultural food production as food and nutrition security in farm households ameliorates.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-582
Author(s):  
Sunjina Noor Ria ◽  
Khandaker Md. Mostafizur Rahman ◽  
Mohammad Mujaffar Hossain ◽  
Md Shihab Rana

This study aims at assessing and analyzing the core food security indicators to enhance food and nutrition security of enclave people. A survey was conducted using structured questionnaire covering 120 households. Primary data were collected during July to December 2018. Middle aged persons are found to be the heads of households, average age is 48.87 years, family size is 4.38 persons, average education of household’s head is 3.55 years of schooling and dependency ratio is 0.67. The total value of family assets before enclave exchange was BDT 124752 and after enclave exchange it becomes BDT 178177. Their total land area before and after enclave exchange are respectively 75.85 and 77.60 decimal. Average annual family income is BDT 114799. Total income increases significantly with the increase in income from agriculture and labor selling activities. The yearly family expenditure increases significantly with the increase in food expenditure and total land size. The annual family expenditure is BDT 134363. Average daily per capita consumptions of rice, potato, vegetables and all food items are respectively 417.59, 75.35, 114.06 and 792.06g. Daily per capita calorie and protein intakes are respectively 1788 kcal and 55 g which are relatively lower compared to the national level. People consume almost all 12 categories of food items and average household dietary diversity score is 11.50. Food security decreases with the increase in family size and increases with the increase in food cost. Absolute poverty is 89% and hard-core poverty is 55% on the basis of direct calorie intake method. Absolute and hard-core poverty are 68% and 52% respectively on the basis of cost of basic needs method. As a policy option, the government should support and take the development initiatives of people, enhance food security status and upscale the nutrition condition of people living in the enclave. J Bangladesh Agril Univ 17(4): 574–582, 2019


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chanyalew Seyoum Aweke ◽  
Maria Sassi ◽  
Edward Lahiff ◽  
Muluken G. Wordofa

Abstract Food insecurity remains one of the major challenges in Ethiopia. There is scanty empirical evidence regarding the contribution of seasonality to household food and nutrition security. This study was conducted in eastern Ethiopia with the aim of examining seasonal household food and nutrition security and factors influencing this seasonal variation. Data was gathered from randomly selected households during pre- and post-harvest seasons. A Random Effects Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression was employed for analysis. The result indicated considerable variation between the two seasons in terms of dietary diversity and food security. Households producing more food groups, cultivating larger size of land, having higher household income, keeping more livestock, owning cell phone, having access to cooperatives, and having access to improved drinking water as well as education were more likely to be more food secure across seasons. However, households keeping livestock in their dwelling units and households who had access to credit were negatively associated with seasonal food insecurity. Future interventions aiming at ensuring food security should pay attention to seasonality and mechanisms of improving diversified food production and household income as well as expanding education opportunities and access to cooperatives, infrastructure (mobile telephone) and sanitation.


Author(s):  
Sven Bergau ◽  
Tim K. Loos ◽  
Orkhan Sariyev

AbstractFood insecurity persists in large parts of Ethiopia. Recent literature suggests that both on-farm and off-farm diversification, as well as access to agricultural markets, may help improve household dietary diversity scores (HDDS) as an indicator for food and nutrition security. While the HDDS is frequently used, a diversity score for the production side has rarely been applied at a comparable level of (dis-)aggregation. Employing socio-economic data collected covering 400 Ethiopian smallholder farmers, this study investigates how the travel time to markets, non-farm income, and on-farm production diversity associate with household food and nutrition security. Findings suggest that production diversity and higher non-farm income are linked to more diverse diets. With longer travel time to markets, food consumption is less varied. Production diversity and increased market participation do not appear to be mutually exclusive, and thus, should be considered equally when developing policy interventions.


Author(s):  
R. K. Naresh ◽  
Saurabh Tyagi ◽  
M. Sharath Chandra ◽  
B. Chandra Shekar ◽  
Pradeep Kumar Singh ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting food and nutrition security through economic and social systems shocks, food system disruptions and gaps in coverage of essential health and nutrition services. Food systems in low- and middle-income groups must adapt and strengthen food and nutrition security in the wake of COVID-19. Smallholder farmers are a crucial part of the food value chain in India, as well as a critical element of the global food system. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new risks that threaten livelihoods as well as food security. Post the rabi harvest in April, farmers prepare for the next (kharif) season in May. However, the COVID-19 induced disruptions have reduced production capacity for farm inputs and have led to an increase in price, making these resources inaccessible to smallholder and marginal farmers in the country. The corona-virus pandemic has caused a global reduction in economic activity and although this is major cause for concern, the ramping down of human activity appears to have had a positive impact on the environment. The COVID-19 lockdown has several social and economic effects. Additionally, COVID-19 has caused several impacts on global migration. Carbon emissions have dropped, and the COVID-19 lockdown has led to an improvement in air quality and a reduction in water pollution in many cities around the globe. We found that the COVID-19 lockdown in India has primarily impacted farmers’ ability to sell their crops and livestock products and decreased daily wages and dietary diversity. In this context, we aim to synthesize the early evidence of the COVID-19 impact on the Indian agricultural system viz., production, marketing and consumption followed by a set of potential strategies to recover and prosper post-pandemic. Findings indicate that the pandemic has affected production and marketing through labour and logistical constraints, while the negative income shock restricted access to markets and increased prices of food commodities affecting the consumption pattern.


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