Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and Household Food Security in High-Density Residential Areas of Lusaka: Experiences From Ng’ombe Settlement
Keywords:
COVID-19, Food Security, Zambia
Abstract
Comparable to the rest of the world, African countries are orbiting from the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19. The continent’s administrations responded to COVID-19 guidelines by imposing restrictions to limit the spread of the virus. COVID-19 and measures responses to the pandemic undermine food production, processing and marketing but the most concerning experiences are on the demand-side, economic and physical access to food. Food and Agriculture Organization’s ( FAO) ‘four pillars’ availability, accessibility, stability and utilization provide a complete framework for analysing food security. However, the paper was looking at how people in high density residential areas are experiencing food security during COVID-19 period. The main aim was to assess the experiences of residents of high density urban residential areas of Lusaka in terms of household food security before and during COVID-19 pandemic era. The study used the embedded research design. Structured interviews were used to collect data from the respondents using questionnaires administered on a sample of 235 Ng’ombe residents. Key informants were selected purposively from Ng’ombe urban health Centre, Ng’ombe Catholic church, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Ministry of Agriculture and World Food Programme (WFP) officials. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with a tool called interview guide. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistic, paired t-test and chi-square using R statistical computing software and excel. The results were presented using tables, pie charts and graphs. The study revealed that Ng’ombe residents had a devastating experience during the COVID 19 era among which include reduction in income, hunger, job losses, skipped or reduced meal sizes and compromised diet. Also pinpointing areas for governments and other actors to intervene in the food system to protect the food security of households left vulnerable by COVID-19 for example empowering the affected households with money for businesses and jobs creation. Keywords: COVID-19, Food security, High density areas, dietary diversity.References
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1182768.
1. Food and Agriculture Organisation. Declaration of the World Summit on Food Security. World Summit on Food Security. Rome (internet). 2009, November, pp16–18.
2. World Health Organization. Food and Agriculture Organisation; 2019. The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2019: safeguarding against economic slowdowns and downturns. [Google Scholar]
3. Abdullah M, et al. (2014) Association between household food insecurity and nutritional outcomes among children in Northeastern of Peninsular Malaysia. Nutr Res Pract. 2014; volume 8: pp. 04–11.
4. Sriram and Tarasuk. Economic predictors of household food insecurity in Canadian Metropolitan Areas. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 11 (1) 2016; pp. 1-13, 10.1080/19320248.2015.1045670
5. Barrett CB. Measuring Food Insecurity. Science 2010, Feb, 12. Volume 327, Issue 5967. pp. 825-828.DOI: 10.1126/science.1182768.
6. Kabisa M, Mofya-Mukuka R, Namonje-Kapembwa T. Public Perceptions of Effects of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition and Priority Responses, Rapid Assessment Report. Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute. 2020, May, Volume 12.
7. Mulenga C. ‘The State of Food Insecurity in Lusaka, Zambia’. AFSUN Food Security Series. 2013. Vol 19. pp. 23.
8. Food and Agriculture Organization. An introduction to the basic concepts of food security. Retrieved August 17, 2020, from http://www.fao.org/3/a-al936e.pdf.
9. Food and Agriculture Organization. An introduction to the basic concepts of food security. Rome Food and Agriculture Organization: Rome. 2008.
10. Sriram and Tarasuk. ‘Economic predictors of household food insecurity in Canadian Metropolitan Areas’. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. 2016, Vol 11 (1).
11. Singh B. Urban Food Security and COVID-19: Impacts and Implications for Low-Income and Informal Settlements. Sustainability, 2021; 13(11), 6346.
12. David J. ‘What is COVID-19?’ MD, FAAP, FACP, AAHIVS Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Adult and Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School: Elsevier. 2021; pp. 607-701.
13. SinghalT. A review of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 87 2020, pp. 281-286.
14. Cucinotta and Vanelli. WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic Acta bio-medica: Atenei Parmensis, 91 (1) (2020), pp. 157-160.
15. Barrett C. ‘Actions now can curb food systems fallout from COVID-19’. Nature Food. 2020. 1: pp. 319-320.
16. Headey D and Alderman H. ‘The relative caloric prices of healthy and unhealthy foods differ systematically across income levels and continents’. The Journal of Nutrition. 2019. Vol 149, issue 11: 2020–2033.
17. World Food Programme. ‘COVID-19 will double number of people facing food crises unless swift action is taken’. Press release, 2020, April 21 (www.wfp.org/news/covid-19-will-double-number-people-facingfood-crises-unless-swift-action-taken).
18. Hirvonen et al. ‘Food consumption and food security during the Covid-19 pandemic in Addis Ababa.’American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2021; pp 12-15. (https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12206).
19. Adebanwi W, et al. COVID-19 and Food Security in High-Density Urban Areas: Insights from Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of Urban Health, 2021 98(3), 382-391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-021-00527-5
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21. Silverman D. Qualitative research, issues of theory, method and practice. 3rd edition. London; Sage. 2010.
22. Creswell JW and Plano Clark VL. Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. 2nd Edition, Sage Publications, Los Angeles. 2011.
23. Tashakkori A and Creswell JW. “The new era of mixed methods”, Journal of Mixed Methods Research. 2007. Volume 1, pp3–7.
24. Kumar R. Research methodology a step-by-step guide for beginners, SAGE Publications Ltd: London. 2011.
25. Creswell JW. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 2013.
26. Magdalena M. Zambian capital can't quench thirst of its booming population. Thomson Reuters Foundation; UK. 2014.
27. Bryman A. The Sage Handbook of Organizational Research Methods. SAGE. United Kingdom. 2009.
28. Bryman A. The Debate about Quantitative and Qualitative Research: A Question of Method or Epistemology? The British Journal of Sociology. 2012. Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 75-92 (18 pages) Published By: Wile.
29. Yim KH. Analysis of statistical methods and errors in the articles published in the Korean journal of pain. Korean J Pain. 2010; 23:pp.35–41.
30. Clarke V and Braun V. What can “thematic analysis” offer health and wellbeing researchers? International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. 2014 Oct. Volume 9: Article: 26152.
31. Creswell J. Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches / John W. Creswell. 4th ed. SAGE Publications, United Kingdom. 2014.
32. Osakwe T, Jennel C, Osborne JC, Et al. A qualitative study of home health aides' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. American Journal of Infection Control. 2021, November, Volume 49, Issue 11, Pages 1362-1368.
33. Tran BX, Nyuyen HT, Le HT, et al. Impact of COVID-19 on Economic Well-Being and Quality of Life of the Vietnamese during the National Social Distancing. Front. Psychol., 11 September 2020 Volume 11 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.565153
34. Hamadani D, Mohammed IH, Baldi J, et al. Immediate impact of stay-at-home orders to control COVID-19 transmission on socioeconomic conditions, food insecurity, mental health, and intimate partner violence. Science direct. Volume 8, Issue 11, November 2020, Pages e1380-e1389.
35. Niles MT, Belarmino EH, Wentworth EB and Roni Neff. The Early Food Insecurity Impacts of COVID-19. Nutrients. 15 July 2020. Volume 12. Issue 7: p23
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37. Ericksen PJ. ‘Conceptualizing food systems for global environmental change research’. Global Environmental Change. 2008, Volume 18, pp. 234– 245.
38. Ahmed, et al. (2020) Determinants and dynamics of food insecurity during COVID-19. CDES Working Paper Series 01/20. https://www.monash.edu/data/assets/pdffle/0006/2297463/ WP2020n01v4.pdf (2020). Accessed 02 Feb 2021.
39. Bhattacherjee, et al. (2016) Nutrient adequacy and its correlation in a sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal, India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2016;5:314.
40. Kumera G, Tsedal E and Ayana M. Dietary diversity and associated factors among children of Orthodox Christian mothers/caregivers during the fasting season in Dejen District, North West Ethiopia. Nutrition & Metabolism volume 15, Article number: 16 (2018).
41. Kundu S, Banna H, Sayeed A. et al. Determinants of household food security and dietary diversity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. 2020, December, 15. Public Health Nutrition.Volume 24 Issue 5 : p.23.
42. Mulako K, Mitelo S, Miyanda M, et al. Impact of COVID-19 on Household Incomes and Food Consumption. The Zambian Case. The future feed. 2021 july. Policy Research Note #1.
43. Devereux SC, Be´ne´ and Hoddinott J. ‘Conceptualising COVID-19’s impacts on household food security’. Food Security. 2020, Vol 12: pp 1–4.
44. Elsahoryi NA, Al-Sayyed H, Odeh M and Fairley A. Effect of Covid-19 on food security: A cross-sectional survey. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. 2020, October, DOI:10.1016/j.clnesp.2020.09.026.
45. Mamun AM, Najmuj Sakib, David Gozal, et al. The COVID-19 pandemic and serious psychological consequences: A population-based nationwide study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2021, January, 15 Volume 279, Pages 462-472
46. Pakravan-Charvadeh MR and Movahed RG. The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security and Food Diversity of Iranian Rural Households. Frontiers in Public Health. 2022, February, 10: p1-12. DOI :10.3389/fpubh.2022.862043.
47. Hirvonen. ‘Food consumption and food security during the Covid-19 pandemic in Addis Ababa’ American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 2021, 10 Addis Ababa (https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12206).
48. Barrett et al. Measuring Food Insecurity. Science, 327, 825. 2010. Pages 23-34
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1182768.
Published
2023-11-08
How to Cite
1.
Michelo L, Nyanga P, Alick B. Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and Household Food Security in High-Density Residential Areas of Lusaka: Experiences From Ng’ombe Settlement. University of Zambia Journal of Agricultural and Biomedical Sciences [Internet]. 8Nov.2023 [cited 3May2024];7(1). Available from: https://journals.unza.zm/index.php/JABS/article/view/1095
Section
General