Burden of Food Insecurity, Sociodemographic Characteristics and Coping Practices of Households in Anambra State, South-eastern Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study examined food security status, associated factors and coping strategies employed by households in Anambra State, Nigeria. Mothers (n = 657) were administered a questionnaire adapted from the US Department of Agriculture household food security core module. Food insecurity in the past 12 months was reported in 61% of the households. Large households and those whose mothers had only primary or secondary education were more likely to be food insecure. The mothers coped mostly by limiting their own food intake to ensure their children had enough to eat (59.1%). Food insecurity is high in households in Anambra state.

KEYWORDS:

• Household food security
• coping practices
• rural
• urban
• Anambra
• Nigeria

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the mothers and households of Ukpo, Ichida and Awka who participated in the survey as well as the research assistants, nurses and community health workers who helped in data collection.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest. This research was self-funded by the authors and received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Authorship

N.N.E conceptualized and designed the study, led the data collection and conducted the statistical analysis under supervision of E.D.A. and C.C.I. N.N.E, U.U.E and G.I.C. drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to the interpretation of results and critically reviewed the manuscript for intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethics of human subject participation

This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki and all procedures involving human subjects were approved by the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Ethics Committee (Reference number: NAUTH/CS/66/VOL.3/11). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.