Insecurity Challenges Research Articles

Community Policing Information Sharing in Security Enhancement in Gasabo District, Rwanda

In Rwanda, in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, the security situations were critical and the government adopted mechanisms such as community policing as a strategy for security enhancement. However, the country still struggles with insecurity challenges despite the introduction of community policing. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of community policing information sharing on security enhancement in Gasabo District, Rwanda. The study adopted a mixed methodology approach and a concurrent triangulation design. The study targeted approximately 139,358 household heads of Gasabo District, 73 Community Policing Committee (CPC) chairpersons, 15 Community Liaison Officers, and 260 Police Officers. The study sampled 576 household heads for quantitative data whereas the CPC chairpersons, Community Liaison Officers, Police Officers, and Opinion leaders were used for qualitative data. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the participants. Questionnaires, interview guides, and discussion guides were used to collect data. The findings indicated that information sharing had a positive and significant influence on security enhancement. The study concludes that information sharing contributes significantly to security enhancement in Gasabo District, Rwanda. The study recommended the need for RNP to strengthen information sharing for security enhancement. In particular, the institution should focus on enhancing information sharing aspects including information sharing through social media, music, word of mouth, acting, and training.

Apiculture for Sustainable Land Use and Enhanced Community Livelihoods in Dryland Ecosystems: The Case of Makueni in Kenya

The scarcity of water in drylands is a major cause of crop failure, food insecurity, and consequent human ill-being. Relying on tilling and crop farming is therefore a risky investment and a direct threat to sustainable livelihoods. This calls for a shift in land use to practices that exert less pressure on land and water. Though apiculture is such a land-use practice, its adoption in the context of changing climate and increasing ecosystem vulnerability is still low. In pursuit of this dimension, the objectives of this research were: (i) to determine the extent to which apiculture is practised, (ii) to assess the challenges facing apiculture, and (iii) to assess measures required to scale-up apiculture among resource-poor farmers using Kathonzweni as a case study. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire survey that targeted 379 farmers. Additional data was obtained from secondary sources. Results showed that the majority of respondents (34.2%) relied on crop and animal production as their main sources of income, while 25.8% engaged in apiculture as an extra livelihood activity. Only 6.7% viewed apiculture as a source of food. As such, tilling the land rather than purchasing food using income from other sources remains the mindset in food security planning. Individual farmers harvested an average of 83.53 kg of honey/year and sold on average 60.67 kg/year. The income generated was an average of Kenyan Shillings 15,166.67 (USD 150) per year. Prolonged dry seasons, lack of community sensitisation, high cost of beehives, poor apiculture husbandry practices and difficulties in individually negotiating for better prices for their honey were the main limiting factors undermining this land use. Farmers were however aware of the huge market potential of hive products and the ecological suitability of the area for apiculture. Correlation analysis of quantities harvested, sold and income generated nationally revealed the existence of a very strong and significant positive relationship (r = 0.92; p=0.000). Therefore, investing in apiculture can alleviate household income limitations and the perennial food insecurity challenge in drylands while maintaining natural land cover and hence environmental resilience. Therefore, public-private synergistic partnerships based on a win-win business model are needed for increased adoption of apiculture in the context of changing climate.

Nutrient composition of common fish species in the Okavango Delta: potential contribution to nutrition security

Fish can be a key strategy in addressing the global food and nutrition insecurity challenges. Fish nutrient data are critical for policy development targeting to reduce these problems. Despite this, much of the published studies on nutritional characteristics of fish have focused on marine ecology and there is little information on natural freshwater fish habitats like inland delta areas. This study investigated the nutrient composition of Okavango Delta fishes and their potential contribution to the recommended nutrient intake. Fish species sampled were Clarias ngamensis, Oreochromis andersonii, Schilbe intermedius, Marcusenius altisambesi, Brycinus lateralis, Barbus poechii and Tilapia sparrmanii. The nutrients analyzed were moisture, ash, proteins, Na, K, Ca, Mg, P and Zn. The small fishes (B. lateralis and B. poechii) had higher mineral content; Ca (643–968 mg/100 g), Mg (47–49 mg/100 g) and Zn (2.8–3.6 mg/100 g) compared to the larger species with average mineral content; Ca (73–460 mg/100 g), Mg (23–35 mg/100 g), Zn (1.2–2.9 mg/100 g). The most nutrient-dense species recognized were B. poechii and B. lateralis followed by the large species, M. altisambesi. These species illustrated the potential to contribute 80–121% Ca, 32–47% Mg and 70–150% Zn of the recommended nutrient intake to children (1–9 years), pregnant women and the elderly (65 + years). The study recommends prioritizing small and some large species (M. altisambesi and T. sparrmanii) for polyculture systems, primarily for securing food and nutrition security for local communities.

Community Policing Problem Solving in Security Enhancement in Gasabo District, Rwanda

In Rwanda, the aftermath of 1994 genocide against Tutsi, the security situations were critical and the government adopted mechanisms such as community policing as a strategy for security enhancement. However, the country still struggles with insecurity challenges despite the introduction of community policing. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of problem solving on security enhancement in Gasabo District, Rwanda. The study adopted mixed methodology approach and the concurrent triangulation design. The study targeted approximately 139,358 household heads of Gasabo District, 73 Community Policing Committee (CPC) chairpersons, 15 Community Liaison Officers, and 260 Police Officers. The study sampled 576 household heads for quantitative data whereas the CPC chairpersons, Community Liaison Officers, Police Officers and Opinion leaders were used for qualitative data. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the participants. Questionnaire, interview guides and discussion guides were used to collect data. The findings indicated that problem solving had a positive and significant influence on security enhancement. The study concludes that problem solving contributes significantly to security enhancement. The study recommended the need for RNP to strengthen the problem solving for security enhancement. In particular, the institution should focus on enhancing the following problem-solving components: night patrols, focus on vulnerable community members, resolving family disputes, proactive arrests to solve criminal activities, and adopting technological trends. Keywords: Community policing, problem solving, security enhancement

RUSSIAN INVASION IN UKRAINE: CHALLENGES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD SECURITY

In a global framework disrupted by instability and conflict, both from a social and economic perspective, the primary human needs of the populations are the ones that the policy makers and researchers should keep at the top of their agenda. Therefore, the problem of food security worldwide imposes itself as a very stringent aspect to take into account when evaluating the implications of the current global turbulences. The primary objective of the present article is to review, based on the information available at the regional and global level, the impact of the Russian invasion in Ukraine on food security, and to provide some helpful insights to world leaders whose responsibility is to elaborate adequate policies that minimize the negative consequences of this military conflict, especially considering food shortages. After an in-depth analysis, we identified the fact that the war negatively impacted the agricultural sector, adding on the pressures generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, and climate change. Although at the regional level, as in the case of the EU, there have not yet been any situations of food insecurity, globally, in the case of countries with a high degree of dependence on food aid and food commodity imports, food insecurity started to manifest since May 2022 putting under risk a considerable part of the population. The results also revealed that, at the global level, the four dimensions of food security – availability, access, utilization and stability – have been affected both in the short and in the long term. Both globally and at the EU level, there have been changes regarding cereal prices, quantity produced, export, and import levels. The EU – Ukraine solidarity corridors were among the methods implemented to reduce the impact of the war on the agricultural sector, and mainly to avoid a possible world crisis and the deepening of food insecurity challenge.

Ethical Issues and Insecurity in Africa: The Media Dimension

This paper addresses ethical issues and the challenges of insecurity in connection to mass media and journalistic practice in the context of Africa. In communication studies, ethics is central and critical to the issue of insecurity in Africa, especially to the credibility in the gathering, processing, and delivery of information for believability. Insecurity constitutes a major impediment to the development of Africa. There are multiple points of violent conflicts, acts of terrorism, kidnapping, and crimes. Many countries in Africa are faced with threats ranging from armed banditry, cattle rustling, armed and sea robberies and piracy, militancy, cultism, pipeline vandalism, illegal oil bunkering, and crude oil theft, illegal refining of petroleum, herdsmen-farmers clashes, activities of IPOB and other separatist groups. All of these make society tense, dangerous, and conflict-ridden with implications on journalism, its ethical practice, performance, and credibility. For an individual or people to internalize, accept, believe and actualize the content of information, such an individual or people must adjudge the source and content of the information based on truthfulness, competence, dynamism, and relevance. Often time, the challenges of insecurity in Africa are accelerated due to the way media handle such issues. When an individual is sufficiently and ethically informed, he or she becomes knowledgeable on a particular subject and the mind is freed from uncertainty, liberated from ignorance, and empowered to effectively participate in the process of national development. The growth and development of Africa have continuously failed to correlate with the quantum of resources allegedly expanded over time. Within this context, this paper examines ethics in journalistic engagement and the issues of insecurity in Africa.

The Bamilekes and Geo-architecture in the Mechanisms of Defense and Security: An Attempt at a Historical-Anthropological Study Based on the Alignment of the Buildings and Structures in the Grassfields Chieftaincies of West Cameroon Between the 15th and 19th Centuries

The sudden and massive arrival of the Bamileke on the highlands of West Cameroon between the 15th and 16th centuries A.D. through spontaneous, sporadic and sometimes disorganized migratory waves, marked an unprecedented change in the socio-cultural evolution and political configuration of the region. Indeed, this had led not only to the progressive populating of the entire plateau, but also to the beginning of the first real organized and structured political entities, namely the chiefdoms. The matrimonial social system of Bamileke polygamy generated an exponential demographic growth inherent to a strong uncontrolled dynamic that systematically exerted enormous pressure on the exploitation of natural resources, which in addition to being already scarce was also static. The Bamileke in a survivalist spirit tried to control vital spaces such as water, land, hunting grounds, etc., which unleashed the hegemonic impulses and antagonistic bellicosity of these tribes; one against the other thus plunging the whole region into a turbulent atmosphere characterized by conquest struggles and raids. Indeed, the Bamileke, faced with the permanent challenges of instability and insecurity, in a logic of survival, will appeal to geography to protect themselves. This article aims to demonstrate the contribution of geography in Bamileke architecture as a basic defensive and security support. A genuine interest was noted in the involvement of geography in the development and elaboration of defense and security techniques and strategies in Bamileke land. The study revealed that geography had always played a decisive role not only in the migratory path of this people but had also punctuated the choice of their position at altitude on the plateau, including that of their spiritual conception. This research combined both documentary analysis and oral source approaches.

ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SMALL-SCALE BROILER PRODUCTION TO FARMERS’ FOOD SECURITY IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

The challenges of food insecurity and hunger in Nigeria have continued to receive attention from experts and the government. To increase both protein intake and food security, the government called for urgent need to increase broiler production at both household and commercial holdings. Primary data obtained in year 2020, from 205 randomly selected broiler farmers was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Tobit regression model. This study assessed small-scale broiler production’s contribution to farmers’ food security in Kaduna state, Nigeria. The result showed that mean age was 40 years and majority of the farmers (89.4%) had household size ranged from 1 – 10 persons. In addition, about 73.8% were members of a cooperative society, about 40.5% of the farmers did not have access to extension service while about 78 % of the farmers have access to credit. About 75.10 percent of broiler farming households were found to be food secure. Of the food insecure households, 6.70 % were marginally food insecure, 4.20 % moderately food insecure and 14.00 % severely food insecure. The regression results showed that coefficients of level of education (0.872), access to credit (0.113), membership of association (0.068), cost of day-old chicks (0.363), cost of feed (0812), cost of labour (-2.211), cost of drugs (-0.263) and income from broiler (0.161) were found to be significant contributing to the food security status of the broiler farming households. Finally, broiler farmers attested to the fact that; lack of constant market (95.8%), high cost of feed (92.7%), high cost of input (88%), and price fluctuations (86.9%) are most severe constrains militating the chances of increasing broiler production. Built on the findings of the study it can be concluded that the proportion of food secure broiler farmers are more than the food insecure broiler farmers in the study area. Education, cost of feed and income from broiler production are variables that significantly influences broiler farmers’ food security status. Therefore, farmers should adopt self-feed formulation using locally available resources that will reduce the cost of feeding and increase their profit margin and thereby their food security status.

Application of Machine Learning Techniques to Discern Optimal Rearing Conditions for Improved Black Soldier Fly Farming.

As the world population continues to grow, there is a need to come up with alternative sources of feed and food to combat the existing challenge of food insecurity across the globe. The use of insects, particularly the black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomydiae), as a source of feed stands out due to its sustainability and reliability. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) have the ability to convert organic substrates to high-quality biomass rich in protein for animal feed. They can also produce biodiesel and bioplastic and have high biotechnological and medical potential. However, current BSFL production is low to meet the industry's needs. This study used machine learning modeling approaches to discern optimal rearing conditions for improved BSF farming. The input variables studied include the cycle time in each rearing phase (i.e., the rearing period in each phase), feed formulation type, length of the beds (i.e, rearing platforms) at each phase, amount of young larvae added in the first phase, purity score (i.e, percentage of BSFL after separating from the substrate), feed depth, and the feeding rate. The output/target variable was the mass of wet larvae harvested (kg per meter) at the end of the rearing cycle. This data was trained on supervised machine learning algorithms. From the trained models, the random forest regressor presented the best root mean squared error (RMSE) of 2.91 and an R-squared value of 80.9%, implying that the model can be used to effectively monitor and predict the expected weight of BSFL to be harvested at the end of the rearing process. The results established that the top five ranked important features that inform optimal production are the length of the beds, feed formulation used, the average number of young larvae loaded in each bed, feed depth, and cycle time. Therefore, in that priority, it is expected that tuning the mentioned parameters to fall within the required levels would result in an increased mass of BSFL harvest. These data science and machine learning techniques can be adopted to understand rearing conditions and optimize the production/farming of BSF as a source of feed for animals e.g., fish, pigs, poultry, etc. A high production of these animals guarantees more food for humans, thus reducing food insecurity.

The rhetoric of community participation in urban South African water governance

The persistence of the water insecurity challenge has manifested in weak government financial systems, insufficient technical capacity, and ineffective water governance systems in the global arena. This paper is a contextual analysis of community participation in water governance in urban South Africa since 1994. Limited community participation in urban water governance results in persistent inequality in access to water and sanitation services. New strategies and effective mechanisms are needed to include communities in water governance and pricing.

Impact of CS-IPM on Key Social Welfare Aspects of Smallholder Farmers’ Livelihoods

All stakeholders, especially households that depend on agriculture, must come up with every avenue available to improve farm productivity in order to raise yields due to the constraints posed by climate change on food production systems. Sufficient increments in yields will address the challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition among vulnerable households, especially smallholder ones. Yield increases can be achieved sustainably through the deployment of various Climate Smart Integrated Pest Management (CS-IPM) practices, including good agronomic practices. Therefore, CS-IPM practices could be essential in ensuring better household welfare, including food security and nutrition. With such impact empirically documented, appropriate policy guidance can be realized in favor of CS-IPM practices at scale, thus helping to achieve sustainable food security and food systems. However, to this end, there is yet limited evidence on the real impact of CS-IPM practices on the various core social welfare household parameters, for instance, food security, household incomes, gender roles, and nutrition, among others. We contribute to this body of literature in this paper by reviewing various empirical evidence that analyzes the impact of respective CS-IPM practices on key social welfare aspects of smallholder farm households in developing countries around the world. The review finds that CS-IPM practices do increase households’ adaptation to climate change, thus enhancing soil and crop productivity, thereby ensuring food and nutrition security, as well as increasing market participation of CS-IPM adopters, thus leading to increased household incomes, asset accumulation, and subsequently better household food and nutrition security via direct own-farm produce consumption and market purchases using income. CS-IPM practices also enhance access to climate-related information, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve biodiversity, and enhance dietary diversity through improved crop and livestock varieties and also reduce variable farm production costs. Therefore, there would be multiple welfare gains if CS-IPM practices were scaled up.

Food insecurity and health outcome nexus: empirical evidence from the informal sector enterprises in Bangladesh

BackgroundFood insecurity indicates the difficulty of constantly obtaining adequate food because of limited economic resources. Food insecurity challenges the desired health outcomes. Although extensive literature has examined the associations between food security and health, low-wage informal sector workers have been less frequently addressed in this topic. The present study has focused on food insecurity among the workers working in the informal sector enterprises who experienced entrenched disadvantage during COVID-19 and examines the relationship between food insecurity and health status as measured by self-reported physical and mental health conditions.MethodsThis study has utilized cross-sectional data collected from workers working in informal manufacturing and business enterprises in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) with eight items is used to screen for food insecurity, and the Short Form 12v2 (SF12v2) scale with 12 questions, and validated for use with Bengali respondents, is used to measure the health status of the informal workers. A health production function has been constructed where the health status (both physical and mental) of workers is associated with food insecurity and other socio-economic and health care factors. Empirical analyses of the study have included descriptive statistics, mean score comparisons, and multivariate regression analyses to identify the predictive factors of the physical and mental health status of the workers.ResultsA moderate to severe food insecurity is found to be responsible for the poor health status (both physical and mental) of the selected working group population. Moreover, age over 40 years, having a large family, dissatisfaction with the work place, and the prevalence of occupational health risks are linked to lower physical health, while dissatisfaction with the work place and the incidence of severe diseases contribute to poor mental health status along with food insecurity.ConclusionsExtending social and economic protection towards health coverage and basic consumption is suggested as an immediate action to save lives and ensure productivity of the informal workers. Besides, an increase in income and ensuring decent working conditions are also recommended for the health, safety and satisfaction of workers working in informal sector enterprises.

Anaerobic Codigestion of Tuber Waste and Fruit Waste: Synergy and Enhanced Biogas Production

Increased urbanization and consumerism have resulted in the excessive release of food waste and municipal solid waste. Such wastes contain abundant organic matter that can be transformed into energy, addressing the twin challenges of waste management and energy insecurity. In recent years, different studies have investigated ways of producing biogas through the codigestion of organic wastes. In this work, different food wastes were codigested and the biogas yield was determined. The effect of feedstock mixing ratios, temperature, and pH was studied. A mixing ratio of 1 : 1 produced the highest biogas yield (2907 ± 32 mL), nearly twice, which was obtained at a ratio of 1 : 4 (1532 ± 17 mL). The biogas yield increased with the temperature rise. The lowest yield of 2907 ± 32 mL was obtained at 20°C, while the highest yield of 4963 ± 54.6 mL was obtained at 40°C. Regarding pH, the yield was 2808 ± 31 mL at pH 6.5 and 7810 ± 86 mL at pH 7.3. This indicated a 178.1% increase in the biogas yield. The CN ratio for tuber waste and fruit waste was 18 and 28, respectively, while the corresponding pH was 6.7 and 6.9. A positive synergy index of 4.5 was obtained, which is higher than what is reported in the literature of codigested substrates. Irish potato peels and banana peels produced the highest biogas yield and are recommended for use as codigested feedstock.

Applying machine learning to understand water security and water access inequality in underserved colonia communities

This paper explores the application of machine learning to enhance our understanding of water accessibility issues in underserved communities called colonias located along the northern part of the United States–Mexico border. We analyzed >2000 such communities using data from the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) and applied hierarchical clustering and the adaptive affinity propagation algorithm to automatically group colonias into clusters with different water access conditions. The Gower distance was introduced to make the algorithm capable of processing complex datasets containing both categorical and numerical attributes. To better understand and explain the clustering results derived from the machine learning process, we further applied a decision tree analysis algorithm to associate the input data with the derived clusters, to identify and rank the importance of factors that characterize different water access conditions in each cluster. Our results complement experts' priority rankings of water infrastructure needs, providing a more in-depth view of the water insecurity challenges that the colonias suffer from. As an automated and reproducible workflow combining a series of tools, the proposed machine learning pipeline represents an operationalized solution for conducting data-driven analysis to understand water access inequality. This pipeline can be adapted to analyze different datasets and decision scenarios.

Role of the interaction space in shaping innovation for sustainable agriculture: Empirical insights from African case studies

The challenges of climate change, food insecurity and land degradation have all led to a push for ‘scaling’ innovation for sustainable agriculture. For this purpose, international agricultural development projects often use farm trials or farmer field schools as a way for farmers to engage with technically-constructed knowledge and empirical evidence. However, the role of such trials in the socio-political construction of knowledge is often overlooked. This study conceptualises agricultural development interventions as taking place within an interaction space between researchers and farmers. Unpacking the processes and dynamics of the interaction space from four case studies across Malawi and mainland Tanzania, we present findings which evaluate: 1) how agricultural innovation takes place in the context of funded agricultural development projects, and 2) how space for technical and social knowledge construction can be opened up or closed down in these contexts.Results show that farm trials provide a basis for interaction, but that knowledge exchange in these contexts also require knowledge brokers for successful implementation and scaling. Both knowledge brokers, and the trials themselves shape social dynamics, often simultaneously facilitating social learning for some, but contributing to social exclusions for others. A strong connection was identified between the design of the interaction space and social dynamics evident within it, indicative of the close interconnection between the processes of socio-political and technical construction of knowledge. Key factors open or close the interaction space, such as the continuity of knowledge brokers and the complexity of technologies. Improving the effectiveness of innovation for sustainable agriculture, requires opening up the interaction space to enable more effective and sustained co-creation of technologies, social learning and the collaborative construction of shared knowledge.

Addressing food insecurity and chronic conditions in community health centres: protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation of Recipe4Health

IntroductionChronic conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and depression, are highly prevalent and frequently co-occur with food insecurity in communities served by community health centres in the USA. Community...

Distribution, transportation, and coordination in African indigenous vegetables value chains: A scoping review

Malnutrition continues to be a major problem with negative implications on economic and human development in many parts of the world, including in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Strengthening promising underutilized crops that are nutrient dense, climate resilient, and locally adaptable is an instrumental approach to enhancing dietary diversity. Due to their nutritional and economic benefits, African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) have the potential to contribute to livelihoods and address challenges of food and nutrition insecurity. Despite their importance but due to their perishability, AIVs tend to suffer from high post-harvest losses (PHLs). Effective distribution systems along the value chain have the potential to reduce PHLs for AIVs. We therefore conducted a scoping review on transport systems and coordination in AIVs value chains in SSA. The objectives of this review were to summarize and analyze the focus of research in AIVs transport, to analyze the extent to which the literature synthesizes interactions of sub-components of the chains, and to identify knowledge gaps in AIVs transport literature. Based on the research foci, we categorize the reviewed articles into seven themes. Our analyses indicate that distance to agricultural market is a fundamental aspect of AIVs transportation, as it interacts with transport costs, market participation, produce quality, and profit efficiency. Results show that collective action is instrumental in the coordination of AIVs transportation and that it contributes to cost reduction. Following light exploration of determinants of choice of means of transport, we recommend further research in this area for improvement of transportation in AIVs value chains.

Pedagogy of Work in Postmodern Society: Between Job Insecurity and Digital Revolution

This article aims to analyze how the so-called ‘pedagogy of work’ attempts to answer the challenges of unemployment and job insecurity characterizing the labor market in contemporary society. The authors reflect on the concepts of nihilist pedagogies and the ‘end of work’ by distinguishing two approaches: an active and a passive nihilist pedagogy. The passive approach, based on resignation, is opposed to an active attitude in which labor pedagogy offers tools to address current challenges. The authors support the idea that pedagogy as a human-improving science cannot adopt the position of passive nihilism in interpreting work in contemporary society. To better understand the dynamics related to job insecurity and corrective solutions by pedagogy, the authors analyzed the thoughts of three contemporary philosophers: Zygmunt Bauman, Jeremy Rifkin, and Dominique Méda. These authors redefined the concept of work in connection with the transformations because of globalization, the advent of new communication technologies, and digital work. These changes have redefined not only the concept of work but also the models of work pedagogy in the Western world: capitalism and Marxism. Considering the current challenges, the pedagogy of work needs to be rethought, starting from the problem of employability and focusing on the new occupations in demand in the Internet age. By integrating ideas on interpreting work from the theories of Bauman, Rifkin, and Méda, it is possible to propose a pedagogy of work in the age of change and to outline possible values of education inspired by it.

Water scarcity and excess: water insecurity in cities of Nepal

AbstractThe world is facing the greatest and most complex twin challenges of water insecurity: scarcity and excess, with their adverse consequences on health, well-being, and developmental outcomes. Against this backdrop, we analyzed the challenges households face due to ‘too much and too little water’. The research employed a qualitative methodology in which data were collected through 40 key informant interviews, informal conversations, and observations during 2020–2021 including a relevant literature review. We note that both ‘too much and too little water’ pose risks to water insecurity. Also, water security cannot be ensured by only dealing with water inadequacy without building a resilient water system and robust institutions. We found that water scarcity has affected other components of water security such as equity, quality, and affordability. Excess water has impacted water infrastructures, degrading the water quality, and risking human health and well-being. The responses to the water challenges were hindered by several constraints such as the limited capacity of the water institutions, frequent leadership changes, political influence, and emerging challenges in the federal context. We suggest timely planning and adopting site-specific innovations to address water scarcity and excess challenges, which include strengthening water services, infrastructures, institutions, and governance.

Levels and trends in key socioeconomic inequalities in childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia: evidence from Ethiopia demographic and health surveys 2000-2019

IntroductionThe global burden of childhood undernutrition is mainly concentrated in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, childhood undernutrition varies significantly across different population groups. The present study is aimed at examining the levels and trends in key socioeconomic inequalities in childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was based on a total pooled sample of 48,782 under-five children drawn from five rounds of the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys (2000–2019). We used multilevel binary logistic regression analysis to determine the key socioeconomic determinants of undernutrition among under five children. In addition, we applied concentration index and decomposition rate analysis techniques to explore the levels and trends in key socioeconomic inequalities in childhood undernutrition.ResultsPlace of residence, household wealth status (approximated by asset-based wealth index), and maternal education, among others, were the key socioeconomic variables significantly associated (p < 0.001) with childhood undernutrition in Ethiopia. The level of inequality was the highest with children from rural areas, poor households and uneducated mothers. Absolute socioeconomic inequality in childhood undernutrition prevalence rate was declined by 9.72 during the study period (2000 to 2019).ConclusionChildhood undernutrition was unequally distributed among under-five children in Ethiopia, and largely concentrated among low socioeconomic status population groups. The identified key socioeconomic drivers of inequality in childhood undernutrition can be used to inform localized interventions and communication strategies to improve nutritional status of under-five children in Ethiopia. The study underscores development of poverty reduction strategies that directly address the existing challenges of the food insecurity and childhood undernutrition for the low-income population groups in the country.