Food security and food coping strategies of urban and rural poor households in Indonesia: a systematic review

This study aims to measure food security and the levels of food insecurity among Syrian refugee households. It also aimed to determine the association between food security status and types of households including the number of employed members of the households and children in households. Semi-structured interview questionnaires were administered to 80 households of Syrian refugees residing in Florida. Participants were Syrian refugees who have resettled in Florida since 2011 and were interviewed in one-on-one 45-minute sessions. Included cities were Miami, West Palm Beach, Orlando, and Tampa. The main outcomes were food security, levels of food insecurity, the number of employed individuals in households, and the structure of households with and without children. The mean food security score was 4.7± 2.6 among participating households when a score of 3-7indicates food insecurity without hunger. There were significant differences (p = 0.02) between the levels of food insecurity in rural and urban areas. Households in rural areas experienced higher levels of food insecurity compared to households in urban areas. We found a significant relationship (p = 0.04) between food security and the number of employed individuals in households in rural areas. The logistic regression model comparing food security status in rural and urban areas showed that households in rural areas had 80.2 % less odds of being food secure than those in urban areas with the adjustment of the variable of number of employed individuals(odds ratio = 0.198; 95% CI: 0.055-0.712; p = 0.01). Another logistic regression model showed that Miami was four times and West Palm Beach was 11.8 times more likely to be food secure than Tampa when the number of employees was adjusted. Among allthe households, there were significant differences (p = 0.01) in the levels of food insecurity between households with and without children. When the typeof residence was introduced into the corresponding model, households in rural areas were 79.3% less likely to be food secure than households in urban areas(odds ratio: 0.207; CI: 0.06-0.70; p = 0.01). Another logistic regression showed that West Palm Beach had a significant positive effect (p = 0.005) on food security. Households in this city had 9.95 greater odds of being food secure than households in Tampa. The effect in Miami was marginally positive (p = 0.07) in this model. Households in Miami might have had 3.8 greater probabilities of being food secure than the households in Tampa when the variable of households with and without children was adjusted. Food insecurity was frequent among n = 64 (80.0%) of Syrian refugee households residing in Florida. Households with at least two employed individuals were more likely to experience food security than households with only one member employed. The number of employees in households may have a greater impact on food security in urban areas than in rural areas. Food insecurity was more frequent in households with children than in households without children. Adults in food-insecure households with children might have experienced greater levels of food insecurity compared to their food-insecure children.

There is growing evidence of urban poverty in and around cities in sub-Saharan Africa in the form of food and nutrition insecurity. Although many studies have been done across sub-Saharan Africa on urban agriculture, food and nutrition insecurity, little is known about the association of urban agriculture to household food and nutrition insecurity along the urban–rural continuum, especially in West African cities. Therefore, a survey was carried out between August and September 2014 in and around Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), using a transect approach to guide the data collection. The purpose of this study was to understand the dynamics of urban, periurban and rural agriculture and its association with household food and nutrition insecurity. A total of 240 households participated in the survey. From these households, data were collected on 179 women of reproductive age (15–49 yr) and 133 children under the age of 5 yr to compute Women's Dietary Diversity Scores (WDDS) and other anthropometric indices. The results of this study provide a general picture of crop production which is inclined to subsistence and income generation. Households in rural and periurban areas were more engaged in crop and livestock production compared with their urban area counterparts. Households in periurban areas had the highest relative proportion (54%) of food insecurity (household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) > 11), compared with urban areas (39%) and rural areas (45%). At the same time the periurban households had the highest relative proportion of stunting and wasting prevalence compared with urban and rural households. Households in the rural areas had the highest dietary diversity (WDDS ≥ 6), compared with periurban and urban households. Households keeping livestock significantly experienced less wasting (weight-for-height index (WHZ)) (coef = −0.15;P= 0.008) by a factor of 0.15, and overweight (body mass index (BMI)-for-age (BAZ)) (coef = −0.12;P= 0.015) by a factor of 0.12 compared with households not doing livestock keeping. Households involved in crop production significantly experienced more food insecurity, HFIAS (coef. = 2.55;P= 0.042) by a factor of 2.55 compared with households without crop production. The complexity of periurban areas coupled with the scourge of food and nutrition insecurity will require more periurban agriculture and food policy consideration.

Achieving food security is still a major problem for households in most rural areas of Nigeria. This study was therefore designed to assess the food security status among farming households in rural areas of Kano state, Nigeria. The study utilized a multistage random sampling technique to +select a sample of 120 rural farm households for interview. Data collected were analysed using percentages, mean score, logistic regression and food security index. Using the food security index approach, the study revealed that 74% of the respondents were food secure while 26% were food insecure. The results of the logistic regression revealed that educational level (p0.05; z = 1.95), sex (p0.05; z = 1.99), household size (p0.05; -4.29) and access to credit (p0.05; z = 2.4) were significant determinants of food security. Also, the major effect of food insecurity on the households include reduction in household income/ savings due to increased expenditure on food (M= 3.58), among others. The perceived coping strategies in cushioning the effects of food insecurity include engaging in off-farm and non-farm jobs to increase household income, (M= 2.77), among others. The study therefore recommends the fast tracking of already established policy measures aimed at reducing food insecurity in the country. Also, efforts aimed at reducing food insecurity among rural farming households should focus on increasing household income and food supply.

Introduction: Poverty, remains a major challenge inIndonesia, limiting households’ access to adequate food and contributing to persistent food insecurity. This study aims to analyze the differences in food security, self-efficacy, food coping strategies, and the nutritional status of under-five children among poor households in urban and rural areas of Cianjur Regency.Methods: This research is a comparative study with across-sectional design conducted in February 2025. The study sites were Kelurahan Sayang (urban) and Ciwalen Village (rural). The total number of subjects included in this study was 64 in the urban area and 62 in the rural area. Main respondents were mothers with children under five years old.Independent t-test was used if the data were normally distributed, while the Mann-Whitney test was applied for nonnormally distributed data.Results: Most mothers in both urban (43.8%) and rural(58.1%) had attained only a primary education (elementary school/equivalent). Most households in this study experienced food insecurity (urban 92.1% and rural 96.7%) (p>0.05), ranging from mild to severe levels. Almost all respondents in both areas exhibited low levels of self-efficacy (scores 1–3) (urban: 92.2% rural: 93.5%) (p<0.05). Most respondents fell into the low food coping strategy category (urban 62.5% and rural 67.7%) (p>0.05). Most food coping strategies used byhouseholds was adjusting meal distribution, with mothers prioritizing food for children over themselves and other adults.The nutritional status of children under five showed a high prevalence of underweight and stunting. Underweight prevalence among under-five children was 32.8% in urban areas and 22.5% in rural areas, while stunting affected 37.4% of urban children and 32.2% of rural children.Conclusion: Most poor households in urban and rural areas remained food insecure, with low maternal self-efficacy and mild food coping strategies despite food insecurity. Underweigt and stunting among under-five children are still prevalent.

Food insecurity and health is turning out to be one of the biggest issues of the world especially in the pandemic. Developing countries are particularly affected badly from the problem of food insecurity and malnutrition. Food and nutrition (macro and micro nutrition) status was assessed by using the calories and nutrition intake method in the rural and urban areas of district Faisalabad and food security index was used to estimate the absolute food security status. Primary data set about 500 households were collected from the rural and urban areas. The results show that calories and macronutrient’s security status was better in the urban areas while the situation of micro nutrients was better in rural areas. It was found 49 percent households in rural areas and 43 percent households in urban areas were food and nutrition secure. The impact of covid-19 was evident in urban areas especially in low-income households and people who earn daily wages. The regression analysis showed that prevalence of disease, Education, household income, family size, number daily intake meals, age of household head and land size were significant impact on the food and nutrition security status in both rural and urban areas.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 12.6pt 6pt 18pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;"><span lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us">The study was aimed to get data on kind of processing and acceptance level of local soybean products in rural and urban areas in Java Island. The study locations were South Jakarta (Province of DKI Jakarta); Serang and Tangerang (Province of Banten); Bekasi, Bogor and Bandung (Province of West Java); Purwokerto, Semarang and Solo (Province of Central Java); Yogyakarta (Province of D.I.Yogyakarta); Malang, Jember and Surabaya (Province of East Java). The study was a part of a grand study on processing, acceptance, and consumption pattern of local soybean products at various socio-economic level of households in Java Island in 2005. The data were obtained by interviewing and observing 2080 households (consisted of 1280 households in urban and 800 households in rural areas) selected randomly. Soybean products that mostly found in the market and consumed by households of Indonesian people, particularly in Java Island, were tempe, tauco, soy-sauce, tofu, tofu-flower, soy-sprout, and oncom. The mostly ways to process the soy products were stir-frying, deep-frying, toasting, boiling, and ‘bacem’. Besides, there were also some soy products that consumed directly at a household level after factorized processing, namely as soy-sauce and soy-milk. The average time used to process the soy-products varied, depended on the way of processing and number of the product processed. Stir-frying, especially for tempe, tofu, and tauge, was a frequent way done by poor and rich households, both in urban and rural areas. The products that mostly processed by frying in rural household was tempe, tofu and soybean, meanwhile in urban areas were only tempe and tofu. The everage time used by urban households to fry the soy-products was shorter than time used by rural households. It was found that more than 90% of households in rural and urban areas stated “like” and “like very much” tempe, tofu, and soy-sauce. However, the acceptance level of household on tauco, soy-milk, and soy-flower was still low, namely less than 50%.</span></p>

Objective: Demographic and epidemiological changes in the 21st century have created new challenges such as aging and the rising trend of non-communicable diseases. The high prevalence of disability (due to the growing aging population), non-communicable diseases, and accidents have increased the demand for rehabilitation services. However, there are not enough resources to meet all current needs in many parts of the world. The purpose of this study is to investigate the inequality in the utilization of rehabilitation services between Iranian households in urban and rural areas. Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical study with a cross-sectional design using the household expenditure, income survey data from the Statistics Center of Iran in 2018. The used instrument was a questionnaire surveying the expenditure and income of urban and rural households (social characteristics of household members, place of residence and main living facilities, food/non-food expenses, and household income), which was completed through interviewing the household head or a member over 15 years of age. The study samples were 18610 households in rural areas and 20348 households in urban areas. After extracting and refining the data, 38958 households were included in the study. Factors affecting their utilization of rehabilitation services and the inequality in utilization were analyzed using the Chi-square test and the concentration index (CI), respectively. Data were extracted in MS Access 2013 and MS Excel 2013 applications and were analyzed in STATA V.14.1 software. The geographic distribution of the service utilization was plotted using ArcGIS Map V. 10 software. Results: A total of 258 households (0.77%) used rehabilitation services. Of these, 226 (87%) had a male head, and 32 (13%) had a female head. About 60% had 3-4 members, and 239 (92%) had insurance coverage, and others (8%) had no insurance coverage. Also, 173 (67%) had an employed head. Finally, 55% were living in rural areas, and 45% in urban areas. Uninsured households had less use of rehabilitation services (P<0.05). Also, 1.32% of the fifth income quintile (highest income) used rehabilitation services, while this rate was 0.35% for households in the first quintile (P<0.001). Zanjan, Qazvin, Khuzestan, Isfahan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and Semnan provinces had the lowest service utilization rates in urban/rural areas and the whole country. Qom province had a better status regarding service utilization in urban areas, while East Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Yazd, Fars, and Hormozgan provinces had higher service utilization rates in rural areas. Overall, East Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, and Qom provinces had a higher rate of utilization. The CI value for the whole country was reported at 0.24 (95% CI: 0.17-0.30), indicating a higher inequality in utilization in favor of the rich. The CI values for rural and urban areas were 0.27 and 0.19, respectively (P<0.001). Conclusion: There is inequality in the utilization of rehabilitation services in favor of the rich households in Iran, and low-income households have lower access to these services. The inclusion of rehabilitation services in the primary health insurance package with appropriate pricing and population coverage, and fair distribution of rehabilitation services following the needs of public and private sectors, can increase the access and utilization of rehabilitation services.

Nonfarm Employment and Food Security: Rural Households in Bangladesh

To analyze the situation of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) ownership in malaria-endemic African countries from 2010 to 2023, so as to provide insights into China's deeper participation in malaria control in Africa. The study period from 2010 to 2023 was divided into three phases: the baseline phase (from 2010 to 2015), the middle phase (from 2016 to 2019), and the final phase (from 2020 to 2023), a total of 11 African countries with at least one Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in each phase were included. Data pertaining to ITNs in 33 surveys of the above 11 African counties from 2010 to 2023 were captured from the DHS database, and the proportions of sources of ITNs and ITN ownership in each phase (number of ITNs ownership per person, overall ownership rate, and ownership rate per two residents) were calculated. The differences in numbers of ITNs per person between urban and rural areas and specified by socioeconomic status were analyzed. The proportions of ITNs from distribution campaigns were 60.24% to 94.01% and 50.46% to 85.04% in 11 African countries in the middle and final phases, respectively. The median numbers (interquartile range) of INTs ownership per person were 0.22 (0.50), 0.33 (0.50) and 0.33 (0.50) in the baseline, middle, and final phases, and the overall ownership rates [95% confidence interval (CI)] were 59.77% (59.50%, 60.05%), 70.32% (70.06%, 70.57%), and 69.21% (68.95%, 69.47%), while the ownership rates per two residents were 26.91% (26.66%, 27.16%), 38.07% (37.80%, 38.34%), and 36.56% (36.29%, 36.84%), respectively. The number of ITNs per person showed a significant increase followed by a significant decrease in 7 countries during all three phases (H = 102.518 to 2 327.440, all P < 0.05; Z = -48.886 to -4.653, all P < 0.016 7 after Bonferroni correction). In 33 surveys, there were 31 (Z = -26.719 to -2.472, P < 0.05) and 28 surveys (Z = -27.316 to -4.068, P < 0.001) with significant differences in numbers of ITNs ownership per person between households in urban and rural areas and with different socioeconomic status, including 20 surveys with a significantly higher number of ITNs ownership per person in households in rural areas than in urban areas, and 17 surveys with a significantly higher number of ITNs ownership per person among the poorest households than among the richest households. There are substantial disparities in ITNs ownership in 11 African countries. Intensified co-operation on malaria prevention and control measures, such as ITNs, is recommended between China and African countries to build a global community of health for all.

With the onset of the coronavirus crisis, disruption of the domestic food supply chain, loss of revenue, and payments that affect food production have led to severe tensions and food security risks in many developing countries. The rural communities are more at risk of food insecurity due to less access to healthcare and social inequality. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and food diversity of rural households. The sample included 375 household heads living in the rural areas of Khorramabad county, which was determined using a three-stage cluster sampling method. Data were collected using standard Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) questionnaires. The results showed that the food security situation of rural households has deteriorated, and consumption of some food groups changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the multinomial regression model showed that gender, level of education, monthly income, number of employed members, nutrition knowledge, employment status, livestock ownership, and access to credit were significantly associated with the food security of households during the COVID-19 pandemic. The household head's gender, level of education, monthly income, nutrition knowledge, employment status, livestock ownership, and access to credit were significantly associated with dietary diversity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the findings, providing emergency food assistance and cash payments to food-insecure households can reduce the risk of food insecurity in rural households. It is suggested that government policies focus on identifying vulnerable households in rural areas, especially female-headed households, low-income households, and households without a wage income.

ObjectiveIn a pandemic, government assistance is essential to support the most vulnerable households as they face health and economic challenges. However, government assistance is effective only when it reaches vulnerable...

This paper provides an updated analysis of the dietary patterns of Malawian households and their consumption of select nutrients - calories, protein, iron, vitamin A, zinc, and folate - using data from the third (2010/11) and fourth (2016/17) rounds of the Malawi Integrated Household Survey (IHS). Changes in food and nutrient consumption patterns between the two survey periods are examined across household wealth categories and across regions. Dietary diversity and patterns of food and nutrient consumption are found to differ significantly between rural and urban areas. Whereas urban households largely saw slightly increased or stable nutrient consumption between 2010/11 and 2016/17, most households in rural areas saw declines over this period. We also document small shifts in the relative amounts of foods consumed over this six-year period in both rural and urban households, with increased consumption of fish and pulses, legumes, and nuts, and decreases in meat, fruit, dairy, and root and tuber consumption. The contribution of animal-source foods as a share of total protein consumption remains low at between 10 and 20 percent, depending on the region, with the overall share of protein from animal-source foods falling slightly between the two surveys. With regards to adequacy of household diets for meeting nutrient requirements, in the absence of nutrient supplementation, many individuals will be subject to iron, vitamin A, and folate inadequacies. Of particular concern, the poorest households have very low nutrient consumption per person and have diets that rely on only a few foods from a small number of food groups. For all six nutrients, nationally just over half of the total amount of nutrient consumed came from food that was purchased. While we would expect this for urban households, even for rural households more than half of all calories and protein consumed came from foods that were purchased. For micronutrients consumed by rural households, between 40 and 50 percent came from purchased foods. While in the past, own production of food may have provided most Malawian households with most of the nutrients they consumed, this is no longer the case. For most Malawian households, including in rural communities, their food security and dietary nutritional needs now are equally tied to the market as to their own farming, if not more so. Drawing lessons from the analysis here for improving the food consumption data collected in the IHS surveys, more detailed and further disaggregated data would be beneficial, particularly to help estimate nutrients derived from fortified and processed foods. Additional information on how food is shared within households would also allow for a better understanding of nutrient inadequacies at the individual level. Collecting more information on the content of the meals that household members eat away from home would also be helpful in removing some uncertainty in the nutrient consumption estimates made from the data. Finally, additional information on food gifts received could clarify aspects of household coping strategies, the performance of formal social safety nets, and food choice.

ObjectivesThe objective of the study was to measure food security among Syrian refugees residing in urban and rural areas in Florida. Women's education, English proficiency, and nutrition knowledge were assessed to indicate their effects on food security in this population.MethodsOne-on-one interview questionnaires were administered to Syrian refugee households residing in Florida (n=80: n=43 in rural areas and n=37 in urban areas). The main outcomes were food insecurity, nutrition knowledge, English adequacy, and women's education.ResultsThe main outcome of this study was the food security status among Syrian refugees residing in Florida. Among the total households, 80% were food insecure, and food insecurity was greater in rural areas (60.9%) than in urban areas (39.1%). The majority (57.5%) of participants scored fair nutrition knowledge. One-way frequency analysis showed that 75% of households had inadequate English. Around 23.7% of Syrian refugee women had a high school diploma or higher. Among these women, 68.4% were residing in urban areas. The chi-squared test showed significant differences in women's education in rural and urban areas (p=0.03). Nutrition knowledge was higher in urban areas compared to rural areas. The chi-squared test showed a significant difference in nutrition knowledge in urban and rural areas (p=0.04). The result of the multivariate logistic regression model indicated that the type of residence, rural vs urban areas, had an inverse significant effect on food security after controlling for our variables. Syrian refugees in rural areas had 79.9 greater odds of being food insecure compared with urban areas (odds ratio: 0.201, 95% CI: 0.053-0.758, p=0.01).ConclusionsNutrition knowledge, English adequacy, and women's education may be less important than types of residence. The type of residence is a contributing factor to food insecurity in Syrian refugees residing in Florida. A larger sample size would allow a clearer understanding of the relation of our variables with food insecurity.

The present research is realised in the frame of the ZEU project “LUCA” (Land Use, Ecosystem Services and Human Welfare in Central Asia). LUCA builds a platform for joint analysis of land use effects for a whole region, involving participants from various countries of Central Asia. In the transition from planned to market economies, the Central Asian Republics experienced rising poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition as well as serious degradation of water and land resources. The process to a market oriented economy has not been adequately supported by national institutional development. It resulted in a reduced living standard. Land use strategies in Uzbekistan determine the level of food security. While the area of rangelands is vast, the livestock farming and production of grains, fruits and vegetables play a major role in food security and also are the basic source of rural population income. More than 60% of Uzbeks live in rural area. Uzbekistan produces adequate calories to supply the population but almost 30 % lives below the food poverty line (IFPRI, 2006). The poorest population spends more than 60 % of income for food and takes a diet dominated by cereals. The existing system of the “state order” to produce cotton and wheat does not allow to growing up food crops in adequate amount. The survey is focused on questions on the socio-economic situation, societal determinants of food supply, food consumption patterns, eating habits, and coping strategies managing food crisis on household level. Markhamat region of Andijan province and Denau region of Surkhandarya province are the two most populated regions of Uzbekistan and presented as the study area. The data collection is based on the own structured questionnaire, on the Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM), Food Consumption Score (FCS), and Food List Recall. Data analysis was done with SPSS. The main results show the percentage of food secure and food insecure households as well as the food consumption status of these households concerning cash and food crops households are producing on their farm land and/or on their homestead plot. The results show that the main indicator of the level of income, food security situation and food consumption status of household is the production strategy. Thereby the more households produce cotton and wheat they will have less income, and a worse food security and food consumption status.

ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE:To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity (FI) among families living in rural and urban areas of Brazil.METHODS:Cross-sectional and descriptive study based on the analysis of two nationally representative surveys conducted using probabilistic sampling by clusters in urban and rural areas of Brazil (2020 and 2022). FI was measured using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. The households were classified as food secure, mild FI, or moderate/severe FI. Prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) and analyses were performed in Stata 16 considering the respective sample weights (svy). Variations between the two surveys were analyzed by urban and rural area, and associations with gender and race/skin color.RESULTS:The majority of households were located in urban areas (2020: 85.6% [n = 1,662]; 2022: 85.5% [n = 10,365]) compared to rural areas (2020: 14.5% [n = 518]; 2022: 85.5% [n = 2,382]). with regard to the characteristics of the household reference person, schooling level, being a formal worker and the per capita family income were higher among families from urban areas. Between 2020 and 2022, the proportion of severe levels of FI increased significantly more in households from rural areas. Despite the higher FI in rural areas, a variation of +54% was noted in urban areas, where the prevalence of moderate/severe FI increased from 19.4% (2020) to approximately 30% (2022). There were greater proportions of FI in households headed by men in urban areas (+75.1%) and mixed race/black people (+55.9%), while households headed by white people saw an improvement in FS.CONCLUSION:The FI increased unequally between the rural and urban areas of Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study reinforce the need to plan equitable public policies that debate the different vulnerability profiles aggravated by disparities as a way of guaranteeing food and nutritional security in post pandemic in Brazil.