Abstract
Uganda is amongst the countries in Africa which have experienced total confinement during the COVID 19 outbreak. The impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic will have disproportionate effects on populations with higher existing vulnerability. Youth consistently experience higher levels of food insecurity than adults and are more likely to be dependent upon informal employment. The present study aimed to understand the impact of COVID 19 total confinement on youth food security in the rural Mpigi District of Uganda. The study targeted rural youths and questions were asked as to whether the COVID 19 pandemic led to food insecurity. Using self-administered questionnaires, data were collected from 380 respondents selected randomly from Nkozi sub-county. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze collected data. Nested binary logistic regressions was used to examine the relationship between food security-sex-education levels. The study established that 75% of youth were classified as food insecure. Female youths were more likely to be food secure than males. The study also revealed that a high level of education significantly contributes to youth food security. This study reinforces the importance of including social determinants of food security, such as sex and level of education in the policies targeting youth food security. Giving food relief, reduce food taxes and allowing the business to open are three of the major recommendations from this study.
Highlights
The outbreak of coronavirus is a public health emergency causing large-scale loss of life and posing a major threat to global food security, especially in Subsaharan Africa
According to World Bank [8], the pandemic is likely to push 88 to 115 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, a third of these being from sub-Saharan Africa while the World Food Programme [9] and the Food and Agriculture Organization [10] project that the pandemic will almost double the number of people facing acute food insecurity from 135 million to 265 million, by the end of 2020
The objective of this study was to explore the degree to which total confinement of COVID 19 is associated with food security status among youth in a rural area of Uganda
Summary
The outbreak of coronavirus is a public health emergency causing large-scale loss of life and posing a major threat to global food security, especially in Subsaharan Africa. The pandemic is having widespread effects on food security, nutrition, and the overall functioning of food systems [1,2,3]. The spread of the pandemic is disrupting food systems and undermining food and nutrition security of households [4, 5]. Hunger is often linked to a problem of accessibility, availability, stability and utilization [6]. Hunger is associated with the sharp rise in food prices associated with economic constraints, conflicts leading to political instability and unusual climatic conditions [7]. COVID 19 pandemic is already significantly affecting economic activity at global, regional and local levels. According to World Bank [8], the pandemic is likely to push 88 to 115 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, a third of these being from sub-Saharan Africa while the World Food Programme [9] and the Food and Agriculture Organization [10] project that the pandemic will almost double the number of people facing acute food insecurity from 135 million to 265 million, by the end of 2020
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