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Food Insecurity, Safety Nets, and Coping Strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Country Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Shouro Dasgupta

    (Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), 30175 Venice, Italy
    RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE), Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), 30175 Venice, Italy
    Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, 30175 Venice, Italy)

  • Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson

    (Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London WC2A 2AE, UK)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected food security across the world. As governments respond in different ways both with regards to containing the pandemic and addressing food insecurity, in parallel detailed datasets are being collected and analysed. To date, literature addressing food insecurity during the pandemic, using these datasets, has tended to focus on individual countries. By contrast, this paper provides the first detailed multi-country cross-sectional snapshot of the social dimensions of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic across nine African countries (Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda). Econometric analysis reveals that female-headed households, the poor, and the less-formally educated, appear to suffer more in terms of food insecurity during this global pandemic. Importantly, our findings show that the negative consequences of the pandemic are disproportionately higher for lower-income households and those who had to borrow to make ends meet rather than relying on savings; impacts are country-specific; and there is considerable spatial heterogeneity within country food insecurity, suggesting that tailored policies will be required. These nine countries employ both food and cash safety nets, with the evidence suggesting that, at least when these data were collected, cash safety nets have been slightly more effective at reducing food insecurity. Our results provide a baseline that can be used by governments to help design and implement tailored policies to address food insecurity. Our findings can also be used as lessons to reshape policies to tackle the heterogeneous impacts of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Shouro Dasgupta & Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson, 2021. "Food Insecurity, Safety Nets, and Coping Strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Country Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-22, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:19:p:9997-:d:641155
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    Cited by:

    1. Elias M. A. Militao & Elsa M. Salvador & Olalekan A. Uthman & Stig Vinberg & Gloria Macassa, 2022. "Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes Other than Malnutrition in Southern Africa: A Descriptive Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Elias M. A. Militao & Elsa M. Salvador & José P. Silva & Olalekan A. Uthman & Stig Vinberg & Gloria Macassa, 2022. "Coping Strategies for Household Food Insecurity, and Perceived Health in an Urban Community in Southern Mozambique: A Qualitative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Yonas T. Bahta, 2022. "Nexus between Coping Strategies and Households’ Agricultural Drought Resilience to Food Insecurity in South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, June.
    4. Dasgupta, Shouro & Robinson, Elizabeth J. Z., 2022. "Attributing changes in food insecurity to a changing climate," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114408, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Hamid El Bilali & Lawali Dambo & Jacques Nanema & Sheirita Reine Fanta Tietiambou & Iro Dan Guimbo & Romaric Kiswendsida Nanema, 2023. "Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Agri-Food Systems in West Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-23, July.
    6. Chakravorty, Bhaskar & Bhatiya, Apurav Yash & Imbert, Clément & Lohnert, Maximilian & Panda, Poonam & Rathelot, Roland, 2023. "Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on India’s rural youth: Evidence from a panel survey and an experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    7. Mohammad Al-Saidi & Suhair A. Gayoum Saad & Nadir Ahmed Elagib, 2023. "From scenario to mounting risks: COVID-19’s perils for development and supply security in the Sahel," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6295-6318, July.
    8. Martin Paul Jr. Tabe-Ojong & Emmanuel Nshakira-Rukundo & Bisrat Haile Gebrekidan, 2023. "COVID-19 and food insecurity in Africa: A review of the emerging empirical evidence," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(3), pages 853-878.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; food insecurity; multi-country; socioeconomic determinants;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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