Whose Logic? The Local Redistribution of Food Aid Targeting Old and Chronically Sick People in Zambia

Abstract

In 2002-2003, the agro-pastoralist groups in the Kafue Flats of the Southern Province of Zambia were severely affected by famine. Livelihood changes due to an economic crisis decreased the ability of many families to support dependants, and those who were old or chronically ill were often regarded as a mere burden by their relatives. These developments were taken into account by aid agencies that set up criteria to identify the most vulnerable households. Such indicator targeting for food aid resulted at the local level in prioritizing households headed by an old or chronically ill person, regardless of whether the household was in other ways categorized as poor. As a consequence, households headed by less impoverished elder people, particularly if they had political power, were also able to gain access to relief food for their own benefit. Meanwhile, other elderly persons were expected to share relief food (voluntarily or not) with their relatives due to the increasing destitution of the poorer strata of the population. Local priority setting rarely accorded with the logic of the aid organizations, but instead prioritized firstly those who had to work hardest, then children. Ultimately, local power structures and notions of entitlement determined the distribution of food aid irrespective of official targeting aims.