Nurturing Food Security for All: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Social Protection Responses Among Vulnerable Population Groups in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact of government and humanitarian interventions during COVID-19 on food security among vulnerable populations in Nigeria. Data from a survey conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in July 2020 was used, with a sample of 4,833 households drawn from various vulnerable groups such as refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Using matching methods, the results indicate that targeted support initiatives helped alleviate immediate food insecurity challenges during the pandemic. This underscores the significance of focused interventions in mitigating the adverse impact of economic shocks on food security for vulnerable populations.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• food security
• interventions
• Nigeria
• vulnerable groups

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data used in this study is derived from a source in the public domain – UNHCR. 2020. Socio-economic impact assessment of COVID-19 pandemic among persons of concern in Nigeria (July 2020). UNHCR microdata library. https://microdata.unhcr.org

Notes

1. The term “palliatives” here refers to relief measures or provisions intended to alleviate the immediate suffering or distress of individuals facing economic hardship due to the pandemic.

2. The Stata “pscore” command, developed by Becker and Ichino (2002), is used to estimate the propensity score and test for the balancing property. The results are available from the author upon request.

3. The results of the preliminary analysis associated with the analysis are available from the author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The author did not receive any funding for this study.