Hunger Season Research Articles

Challenges of Smallholder Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Perspective from Roger Thurow's, The Last Hunger Season

Small holder farmers are the small-scale farmers who own the land from one hectare to less than ten hectares. These farmers often depend on the family labour for farming activities, and a significant portion of their production is used to support their own livelihoods. Africa is a region where eighty percent of the farmland is cultivated and food is produced by small holders, yet they face multiple obstacles in sustaining their routine. The death rate of children is increasing due to poverty and malnutrition. Major challenges include the lack of sustainable agricultural practices, insufficient planting techniques, inadequate access to fertilizers and markets, water scarcity, and the impacts of climate change. The author aims to raise awareness about global hunger and the importance of long-term viability and economic development. He delves into the lives of small farmers, revealing the complexities of market failures, food insecurity, and the inability to access modern agricultural tools. The author also highlights the efforts of organizations and initiatives, such as One Acre Fund, which provide farmers with high-quality seeds and fertilizers on credit, and require them to attend local farming classes. This paper focuses on the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Africa, as depicted by Roger Thurow in "The Last Hunger Season”. The objective of the study is to emphasize the need for awareness and policy interventions, including family planning and literacy programs, to empower rural communities, achieve food security and improve economic resilience in the face of population growth and agricultural challenges.

Wild Foods Are Positively Associated with Diet Diversity and Child Growth in a Protected Forest Area of Madagascar

BackgroundConcurrent losses in biodiversity and human dietary diversity are evident in Madagascar and across many food systems globally. Wild food harvest can mitigate nutrition insecurities but may also pose species conservation concerns. ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the association of wild plant and animal species consumption during hunger season with diet diversity and child growth near the Alandraza-Agnalavelo protected forest in Southwestern Madagascar. Second, we studied the conservation status of the consumed wild plants. MethodsMethods from public health nutrition (24-h recall dietary intake, anthropometry using World Health Organization [WHO] Growth Standards), ethnobotany, and forest ecology (ecologic studies of abundance, habitat preference, associated species, food chemistry assays, and species richness) were applied. ResultsMalnutrition in children (n = 305) was highly prevalent: stunting (32.3%); wasting (18.8%); and low-dietary diversity (4% meeting WHO minimum dietary diversity threshold). Animal foods were consumed in small quantities, providing <10% of Dietary Reference Intakes for all limiting nutrients. Twenty-two wild plant species were consumed during hunger season, prominently tubers (Dioscoreaceae), and leafy greens (Asteraceae, Blechnaceae, Portulacaceae, and Solanaceae). Eight of the 9 target species were identified as abundant and “Least Concern,” whereas Amorphophollus taurostigma was abundant and “Vulnerable.” Regression modeling showed wild food consumption was associated with an increased household dietary diversity score [β = 0.29 (0.06 standard error); P < 0.001], and total wild animal foods positively correlated with height-for-age Z score [β = 0.14 (0.07 standard error); P = 0.04]. ConclusionsWild plant and animal foods may be an important element of food systems to support human nutrition while maintaining ecosystem viability.

Vulnerability to seasonal food insecurity as an exposure to risk: the case of the Southern Province of Zambia

BackgroundSeasonality is an important aspect of food security for subsistence households in developing countries. Among the multidimensional aspects of food security, this paper focuses on how unexpected negative harvest shocks would affect the seasonal food consumption of households. This is particularly important because, with the increasing threat of climate change, the frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods is expected to increase; this would adversely affect crop yields.MethodsGiven seasonal price changes of staple foods, some households buy them when prices are low and store them for the hunger season (not buy high (NBH) households), while others run out of staple foods before the next harvest and therefore buy them when prices are high (buy high (BH) households). Using three years of weekly household panel data for the Choma and Sinazongwe Districts of the southern province of Zambia, we assess the ability of seasonal consumption smoothing separately for NBH and BH households.ResultsNBH households successfully smooth their consumption over the 12 months of the crop year. In contrast, BH households, especially for households with few assets, reduce total consumption in response to harvest shocks, just after the harvest and during the “hunger season” just before the next harvest. However, in spite of this, the consumption of staple foods is generally insensitive to harvest shocks. Instead, they reduce consumption only of non-staple food items, such as vegetables and meats.ConclusionsSeasonal food insecurity is exacerbated by negative harvest shocks. We emphasize the significance of policies aimed at increasing public awareness of healthier food choices, empowering households to avoid purchasing maize at high prices, and reducing seasonal price disparities.

Investigating Seasonal Agriculture, Contraceptive Use, and Pregnancy in Burkina Faso

Seasonal shifts in community-level agricultural production and their impact on the severity of the annual hunger season and household coping behaviors are important themes in climate change–health research. The relationship between seasonal variability, childbearing, and reproductive health, however, is less well understood. In this research, we combine detailed, spatially referenced Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) data collected for Burkina Faso in 2017 and 2018 and a community-specific measure of seasonal agricultural quality to assess the relationship between seasonal agricultural variation and individual-level fertility and two dimensions of reproductive health: contraceptive use and pregnancy. We also incorporate data related to the family planning service environment. Results from cross-sectional regression models indicate that a better than average agricultural season might increase contraceptive use among all women, and analyses of monthly behaviors during and just after the growing season suggest that better than average growing season conditions might actually reduce contraceptive use among women who have no children or who are in their prime childbearing years. The results therefore indicate that women who are building their families might be less likely to use contraception and are perhaps more interested in timing births to occur following better than average growing seasons.

Seasonality and nutrition-sensitive farming in rural Northern Ghana

In rural sub-Saharan Africa, where malnutrition in all its forms is rife, the greatest gap between the availability of foods and the foods needed for a nutritious diet are faced during the ‘hunger season’. We investigated what rural households in Northern Ghana would need to grow to ensure year-round availability of a nutrient adequate diet or the income required to fulfil their dietary needs. We applied linear programming to model different scenarios and interventions. Our results provide three major insights. First, considering seasonality is crucial in nutrition-sensitive farming. Ensuring a nutritious diet year-round requires enhanced availability of vegetables and fruits throughout the year. Second, although staple crops do not provide the full range of essential nutrients, increasing their yields allows for a reduction of field size, freeing up space for the production of other foods belonging to a nutritious diet, such as vegetables. Third, small farms are unable to produce sufficient food to cover their needs. They depend on income both from agriculture and other sources, and the availability of types of foods on markets to meet their dietary needs. Our study shows the value of modelling the range of dietary effects from agricultural interventions in a specific context, using a local feasible nutritious diet as a starting point and taking seasonality into account.

Participatory Evaluation of Development Projects Contribution to Poverty Reduction in Northern Benin

This study analyzed the sustainable changes induced by the "Banikoara Millennium Village Project" on rural poverty reduction. Using the purposive sampling method, 126 household heads were selected from three project beneficiary villages and one non- project beneficiary village. Data was collected through focus group discussions and a structured questionnaire which were processed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that nearly 78% of the respondents have adopted the improved technologies of soil fertility, and yields have increased from 1.2 tons to 3.5 tons per hectare for rice, from 1.4 tons to 2.1 tons per hectare for maize, and from 1 ton to 1.6 tons per hectare for sorghum. We also found that that the project has contributed to decreasing poverty in terms of the achievements of socio-community infrastructures in the education, health and agricultural sectors, the capacity building of communities etc. Majority (85%) of the project beneficiary households consider their current economic living conditions better than the period before the project implementation. This project has a great impact on household food security and shortening the hunger season. However, the project achievements are still fragile and require an action for sustainability. This study suggests that development projects should actively involve the target beneficiaries starting from the needs assessment in particular and implementation to ensure its sustainability.&#x0D; Keywords: Development project, Millennium Villages, Impact evaluation, poverty reduction

Finding food in the hunger season: A mixed methods approach to understanding wild plant foods in relation to food security and dietary diversity in southeastern Madagascar

In many rural farming societies, wild plant foods (WPFs) continue to play an important role in everyday diets as well as in coping with hunger during food shortages. However, WPF collection and consumption may pose challenges to biodiversity conservation efforts (e.g., in protected areas), and some “famine foods,” foods not typically eaten under normal conditions, may have deleterious health impacts. Using data from a cross-sectional survey of 328 smallholder farmers and fisherfolk living in 15 villages surrounding Manombo Special Reserve on the southeastern coast of Madagascar, we examine the relationship between food security, dietary diversity, and consumption of WPFs, specifically giant aquatic arrowhead or via (Typhonodorum lindleyanum) and Polynesian arrowroot or tavolo (Tacca leontopetaloides), during the region's main lean season. We complement survey findings with focus group interviews to document traditional ecological knowledge and perceptions of these WPFs, including how tavolo and via are rendered edible, as well as human health effects from collecting, preparing, and eating them. Using multilevel logistic regression modeling, we found that consumption of these WPFs were significantly associated with inadequate nutrition among farmers. Wealthier households were less likely to consume these WPFs as a coping strategy during food insecure periods, while larger and more food insecure households were more likely to consume them. These findings reaffirm the importance of access to natural areas and support the design of protected area conservation strategies that honor local foodways and consider WPFs that serve as food safety nets for more vulnerable populations.

Children born during the hunger season are at a higher risk of severe acute malnutrition: Findings from a Guinea Sahelian ecological zone in Northern Ghana.

Heightened food insecurity in the hunger season increases the risk of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in childhood. This study examined the association of season of birth with SAM in a Guinean Sahelian ecological zone. We analyzed routine health and sociodemographic surveillance data from the Navrongo Health and Socio‐demographic Surveillance System collected between 2011 and 2018. January–June, the period of highest food insecurity, was defined as the hunger season. We defined moderate acute malnutrition as child mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC) between 115 mm and 135 mm and SAM as MAUC ≤ 115 mm. We used adjusted logistic regression to quantify the association between the season of birth and SAM in children aged 6–35 months. From the 29,452 children studied, 24% had moderate acute malnutrition. Overall, 1.4% had SAM, with a higher prevalence (1.8%) in the hunger season of birth. Compared with those born October–December, adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for SAM were increased for children born in the hunger season: January–March (1.77 [1.31–2.39]) and April–June (1.92 [1.44–2.56]). Low birth weight, age at an assessment of nutritional status, and ethno‐linguistic group were also significantly associated with SAM in adjusted analyses. Our study established that being born in the hunger season is associated with a higher risk of severe acute malnutrition. The result implies improvement in the food supply to pregnant and lactating mothers through sustainable agriculture or food system change targeting the hunger season may reduce the burden of severe acute malnutrition.

A latent growth curve modelling approach to seasonal and spatial dynamics of food security heterogeneities in rural Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya

The increasing complexity of food insecurity, malnutrition, and chronic poverty faced by Sub-Saharan Africa warrants urgent categorisation and tracking of household food security along both temporal and spatial dimensions. This will help to effectively target, monitor and evaluate population-level programs and specific interventions aimed at addressing food insecurity. Traditional longitudinal analysis does not address the dynamics of inter- and intrahousehold heterogeneities within the seasonal and spatial context of household-level food security. This study is the first to overcome such limitations by adopting a multi-group piecewise latent growth curve model in the analysis of the food security situation in a statistically representative sample of 601 households involved in subsistence and cut-flower commercial agriculture, around Lake Naivasha. We considered food security as a latent concept, which manifests as food security outcomes in our primary longitudinal dataset from March 2018 to January 2019. Our analysis highlights the temporal and spatial dynamics of food security and advances new evidence on inter- and intrahousehold heterogeneities in food security across different seasons for the subsistence and commercial farming clusters. These heterogeneities were demonstrated primarily during the hunger season from March to June, and persisted in both the clusters and across months, albeit with different intensities. Moreover, our results indicate the importance of commercial agriculture in achieving food security in the hunger season. Our study suggests the need of a multidisciplinary approach to food security and the introduction of well-coordinated interventions for the development of subsistence and commercial agriculture considering the seasonal and cluster-level specificities.

A black dog enters the home: hunger and malnutrition in Malawi

Hunger and inadequate nutrition are ongoing concerns in rural Malawi and are exemplified in traditional proverbs. Traditional proverbs and common expressions offer insight into commonly held truths across societies throughout...

Effects of dead conspecifics, hunger states, and seasons on the foraging behavior of the purple urchin Heliocidaris crassispina

Trophic cascades are a powerful result of predator-prey relationships in an ecosystem. In aquatic environments, the signals associated with predators and predation are used by prey as a cue to avoid encountering predators when foraging for food. These behavioral cues can be powerful enough to control prey populations and indirectly protect primary producers. Here, we evaluated the effects of cues associated with predation on the purple urchin Heliocidaris crassispina and examined effects of hunger state and season, using time-lapse photography. A series of laboratory and in situ manipulative experiments were conducted to determine patterns of foraging behavior and behavioral modifications. We showed that starved urchins were less sensitive to predation cues compared to normally fed urchins. Field experiments indicated that 70% of fed urchins fled when exposed to a predation cue (presence of a dead urchin) whereas starved urchins remained regardless of the cue, supporting results from the laboratory using dead urchin and algal cues. Sea urchin activity and feeding rates were lower in winter-spring than in summer-autumn. Results suggest that hunger state has a large influence over the behavioral response of sea urchins, while also being affected by season due to metabolic control. In general, starvation appears to override predator avoidance behaviors, which exposes prey species to higher risks of predation.

CERITA TENTANG PANGAN DAN PAKAN DI DAERAH KODI, SUMBA BARAT DAYA

Beginning with the question of why the people of Sumba, especially in Kodi, Southwest Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, feel ‘embarrassed’ to tell the outsiders that they still consume tubers as a staple food, this paper unfolds the story of food and fodder based on the recollection of the community. They eat rice mixed with corn every day and find such food tasty and fulfilling. They solely eat rice during important ritual ceremonies (wedding, funeral, and other traditional rituals). Eating steamed or roasted tubers, accompanied by coffee or sweet tea, has been their morning or afternoon habit while engaging in a conversation with family members. However, tubers become staple food during the hunger season. The data were collected using Participatory Research (RAP) method, or also known as the Action Research. The RAP method also offers ‘learning by doing’ technique that focuses on dialogues between researchers and community members or groups of people to bring together knowledge, experience, and ideas to obtain the desired results and devise future actions. The stories were recorded and documented and later combined with the results of the literature study. The records of the stories were transcribed and then analyzed using the Intertextual method. Rice is a symbol of prosperity and civilization, making it an important food in the ritual sphere in Kodi. However, due to the condition of nature and the persistent drought and water scarcity, rice production becomes highly dependent on rain. The government programs have not been able to solve water management issues in the region.

Socio-Cultural Factors of Food Insecurity in Sierra Leone

Food crop production in Sierra Leone is dominated by rice. It is cultivated by almost all small-scale farmers and consumed in all Sierra Leonean households irrespective of income levels. This underscores the importance attached to rice as a major staple crop. Sierra Leone is a rice deficit nation. Available statistics indicate that between 1970 and 2000, the country was self-sufficient in rice production only in 1975. Between 1979 and 2000, annual domestic paddy production fell from 504,000 to 200,000 Mt. During the same period, the volume of imported rice to fill domestic production shortfalls increased from 30% to 60% of total rice consumption. The 1991-2002 civil war and associated insecurity throughout the rural areas resulted in a dramatic fall in production throughout the 1990s. Since the cessation of armed hostilities in 2002, the recovery of rice production in Sierra Leone has been impressive although self-sufficiency remains elusive. A peculiar feature of food availability in Sierra Leone (especially in rural communities) is its seasonality. Typically, there is widespread food scarcity in farming communities between the months of July and September each year. This seasonal food shortage is commonly referred to as the “hunger season." A plethora of explanations exist for the occurrence of the hunger season. The most frequently cited include insufficient supplies in store due to poor harvest; a lack of skills in storage; and crop loss due to inefficient processing/preservation techniques. This paper argues that apart from the production related explanations (such as insufficient supplies in store due to poor harvest; a lack of skills in storage; and crop loss due to inefficient processing/preservation techniques), several socio-cultural factors need to be considered in accounting for food insecurity in Sierra Leone. Keywords: Socio-cultural, food insecurity, food production, Sierra Leone DOI : 10.7176/DCS/9-10-07 Publication date :October 31 st 2019

Inventory Credit as a Commitment Device to Save Grain Until the Hunger Season

AbstractIn January 2013, we collected data from 653 farmers in Burkina Faso, who were asked hypothetical questions about risk aversion and time discounting. Ten months later, these farmers were offered the opportunity to participate in an inventory credit system, also called warrantage, in which they receive a loan in exchange for storing a portion of their harvest as a physical guarantee in one of the newly‐built warehouses of the program. We found that a significant number of farmers chose to store grain in the warehouse without taking the maximum amount allowed for a loan in return, and that farmers who exhibit a stronger present bias were significantly more likely to participate in the warrantage system than other, otherwise similar, farmers. We interpret these results as evidence that farmers use warrantage as a means to commit to saving a portion of their crop until the lean season. These results are in line with the main predictions of our theoretical model, which explicitly takes the hyperbolic nature of farmers' time preferences into account.

Impact of Women Farmers: Recognized by ASA Presidential Award

(L to r): Fatou Gueye, Ozzie Abaye, and Bineta Guisse received the ASA Presidential Award as representatives of “all women farmers” at the ASA Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL last year. Photos courtesy of Ozzie Abaye. Women collecting forage for silage. Photo courtesy of Dr. Ozzie Abaye. The ASA Presidential Award is given to an individual or group that has had a lasting impact on the agronomic sciences. Last year, 2017 ASA President Jessica Davis presented the award to “All Women Farmers” and honored three women, Ozzie Abaye (Virginia Tech), Fatou Gueye (USAID), and Bineta Guisse (USAID), as representatives to receive the award. Abaye, Gueye, and Guisse were chosen because of their work with women farmers in Senegal through a USAID-funded project (USAID-ERA), which has focused on animal feed and the introduction of mung bean (Vigna radiata) as a new crop. Davis says this award not only highlights the work being done by Abaye, Gueye, and Guisse but is also a way to “bring attention to women farmers all over the world.” Globally, 43% of farmers are women, so outreach, technological advances, and aid should take into account the role of women in their communities. Davis also commented that by focusing on women farmers in Senegal, the recipients had a “direct impact on women and children's health” by not just growing the crop, but impacting their communities. Women are typically responsible for the small ruminants that provide milk, meat, and wool. In Senegal, food for these animals can be scarce during the dry season. Teaching women grassland conservation methods, like silage making, provides them with a way to save the feed readily available in the wet season for the dry season. The team has introduced ways to collect and store feed as hay or silage to women, so they have more food available for their animals during the dry season. Mung bean is a source of important nutrients like protein and minerals and can be used in a variety of cooking methods. Cowpea is the typical legume crop grown in Senegal, but mung bean has the advantage over cowpea in Senegal. Mung bean has a shorter growing season; can be harvested multiple times in a growing season; and most of all, as indicated by the dietary diversity survey, it is especially popular among women and children. “Due to its relatively short season, mung bean can also shorten the lean, hunger season, which is key to fighting chronic malnutrition,” Abaye says. Also, when families diversify their farm, they may have an opportunity to generate additional income. Before encouraging women in Senegal to grow this new crop, Abaye and her colleagues had to take time to get to know the communities they were working with. Through meetings with community leaders and members, they were able to identify the unique needs and production gaps of each village. In interviews with women in Senegal, they spoke of mung bean giving them energy, increasing their milk production, and improving the health of their children. “In societies where women eat last and least, it is of interest to focus on a particular crop women prefer to consume and feed their children,” Abaye says. The original USAID-ERA project, started in February 2011, will end this year. Abaye hopes to find new partners and continue the work. Currently, she and her colleagues are developing mung bean varieties for Senegal. “The selection of the mung bean lines we are currently screening are based on specific criteria that women requested,” she says, “such as multi-purpose varieties that can be used as vegetables… [or] as livestock feed and cover crops.” Reflecting on being a representative to receive this award, Abaye says, “It was a tremendous honor, for sure. I have been empowered and honored by the women I have been working with for the last seven plus years in Senegal. I have received by far more than I ever contributed to the community.”

Early harvest of monsoon rice to address seasonal hunger in northwest Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a high global hunger index with grave impacts of seasonal hunger. Short duration varieties (SDV) and direct seeding of rice (DSR) were introduced to farmers in NW Bangladesh during the monsoon season or kharif-2 to overcome seasonal hunger or monga. These technology options allow early harvest, which increased household food security and livelihood opportunities during and beyond the hunger season. The farmers who used short duration varieties and/or direct seeding were able to harvest three weeks earlier than those who used the traditional practice of long duration varieties and transplanting. More than 70 % of the SDV_DSR farmers completed harvest by mid-October, and all had done so by the end of October, whereas fewer than 5 % of farmers who grew long duration rice varieties that were transplanted, had harvested within the monga period, with most of them (80 %) harvesting during the last week of November. Early harvesting of rice generated significant, multifaceted impacts on the lives of rice farming communities in northwest Bangladesh by increasing rice production, and providing and/or increasing income along with creating additional jobs for the landless or agriculture day laborers in the lean or monga period. We estimated that during the monsoon season, the average hired labor demand was 40 person days/ha, with around 67 % of this labor generated by SDV_DSR. Further, there were improvements in access and availability of food during deficit times of the year. These technology options for rice production could be scaled out in similar agro-environments to reduce seasonal hunger and produce positive benefits on a range of factors.

Associations of dietary diversity scores and micronutrient status in adolescent Mozambican girls.

In low-income settings, dietary diversity scores (DDSs) often predict the micronutrient adequacy of diets, but little is known about whether they predict levels of biochemical indicators of micronutrient status. In 2010, we studied two samples of non-pregnant 14- to 19-year-old girls in central Mozambique, the first in January-February ('hunger season'; n=227) and the second in May-June (harvest season; n=223). In this paper, we examined whether a low Women's Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS) predicts a low concentration of haemoglobin, serum ferritin, zinc, and folate, and plasma retinol in adolescent Mozambican girls. We constructed three scores: WDDS based on 24-h recalls, WDDS15g based on 24-h recall and employing a 15g limit, and 7dWDDS based on 7-day food frequency questionnaires. Logistic regression models, stratified by season, were used to estimate the odds of having a low concentration of a status indicator (≤25th percentile of the season-specific distribution or cut-off from the literature) in those with a low score compared to those with a higher score. In January-February, after adjusting for confounders, a low (≤3) WDDS and a low (≤5) 7dWDDS were each associated with higher odds of having low serum zinc compared to having a higher score, regardless of which of the two types of cut-offs for serum zinc was used. These associations were not present in May-June. Our data from Mozambique suggest that dietary diversity is associated with serum zinc, but this association seems to be limited to the hunger season.

Can village savings and loan groups be a potential tool in the malnutrition fight? Mixed method findings from Mozambique

Child malnutrition is a pervasive problem in sub-Saharan Africa that affects individual and national development. This article examines the impact of participation in village savings and loan (VSL) groups, alone and in combination with a rotating labor scheme called Ajuda Mútua (AM), on household and child nutritional outcomes in Nampula Province in Mozambique. It combines findings from an impact evaluation and a qualitative exploration of the dynamics underlying nutritional outcomes.Three pairs of districts were randomly allocated to two interventions (VSL or VSL+AM) or control. The impact evaluation utilized a prospective, longitudinal design. In total, 1276 households were surveyed at baseline in 2009 and three years later. Difference-in-difference propensity score matching models estimated program impacts on months of food sufficiency and household dietary diversity scores (HDDS) at the household level, and on individual dietary diversity scores (IDDS) and weight-for-age at the child level. In the qualitative study, in-depth interviews (IDIs) were completed with a subset of 36 VSL and 36 VSL+AM participants from two districts who had taken part in the two surveys. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.Survey data indicate that both interventions had a statistically significant, positive effect on months of food sufficiency. The HDDS increased for VSL+AM households and their matched controls; however, the increase was smaller for the VSL+AM group. The difference in increase between the two groups was statistically significant. At the child level, participation in VSL only was found to increase the IDDS. There was no significant effect for weight-for-age. Mean values for both the HDDS and the IDDS remained low. IDIs confirmed that there were improvements in seasonal and transitory food insecurity, which occur when recurring periods of extreme scarcity or sporadic crises are experienced. Due to the timing of the cycle, VSLs provided participants with an infusion of cash to purchase food during the hunger season. VSLs and AMs also offered mechanisms to cope with unexpected events through loans and social support. However, IDIs highlighted lack of money as a persistent challenge in accessing foods to supplement home-grown staples for a diversified nutritional intake. Though parents tended to be aware of the nutritional needs of children, they faced financial constraints in meeting them. There were also indications of a sex gap between control over resources by men and the role played by women in child nutrition.Findings underscore the potential of economic-strengthening activities such as VSLs for improving seasonal and transitory food security, but highlight the need for additional supporting interventions in order to overcome chronic nutritional challenges.

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Diet and Nutritional Status of Adolescent Girls in Zambézia Province, Mozambique (the ZANE Study): Design, Methods, and Population Characteristics.

BackgroundThere is very little published work on dietary intake and nutritional status of Mozambicans. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study on the diet and nutritional status of adolescent girls in different types of communities in Zambézia Province, Central Mozambique, in two distinct seasons.ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper is to present the design, methods, and study population characteristics of the Estudo do Estado Nutricional e da Dieta em Raparigas Adolescentes na Zambézia (the ZANE Study).MethodsData was collected in January-February 2010 ("hunger season") and in May-June 2010 ("harvest season"). A total of 551 girls in the age group 14-19 years old were recruited from one urban area and two districts (district towns and rural villages). The study protocol included a background interview, a 24-hour dietary recall interview, a food frequency questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, bioimpedance, hemoglobin measurement, and venous blood, urine, buccal cell, and fecal sampling.ResultsAdolescent motherhood was common in all study regions. Stunting prevalence for the total study population as a weighted percentage was 17.8% (95/549; 95% CI 14.3-22.0) with no regional differences. Overweight was found mainly in the urban area where the prevalence was 12.6% (20/159; 95% CI 7.5-17.6), thinness was rare. There were regional differences in the prevalence of malaria parasitemia and intestinal helminth infestation, but not human immunodeficiency virus.ConclusionsThe fully analyzed data from the ZANE Study will yield results useful for setting priorities in nutrition policy and further research on the diet and nutritional status in Mozambique and other countries with similar nutritional problems.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01944891; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01944891 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6L9OUrsq8).

Fluctuations in Wasting in Vulnerable Child Populations in the Greater Horn of Africa

Malnutrition in preschool children, usually measured as wasting, is widely used to assess possible needs for emergency humanitarian interventions in areas vulnerable to drought, displacement, and related causes of food insecurity. The extent of fluctuations in wasting by season, year-to-year, and differential effects by livelihood group, need to be better established as a basis for interpretation together with ways of presenting large numbers of survey results to facilitate interpretation. To estimate levels of and fluctuations in wasting prevalences in children from surveys conducted in arid and semiarid areas of the Greater Horn of Africa according to livelihood (pastoral, agricultural, mixed, migrant), season or month, and year from 2000 to 2006. Results from around 900 area-level nutrition surveys (typical sample size, about 900 children) were compiled and analyzed. These surveys were carried out largely by nongovernmental organizations, coordinated by UNICEF, in vulnerable areas of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Southern Sudan, and Uganda. Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) data were used for comparison. Data were taken from measurements of children 0 to 5 years of age (or less than 110 cm in height). Among pastoral child populations, the average prevalence of wasting (< -2 SD weight-for-height) was about 17%, 6-7 percentage points higher than the rates among agricultural populations or populations with mixed livelihoods. Fluctuations in wasting were greater among pastoralists during years of drought, with prevalences rising to 25% or higher; prevalences among agricultural populations seldom exceeded 15%. This difference may be related to very different growth patterns (assessed from DHS and UNICEF/MICS surveys), whereby pastoral children typically grow up thinner but taller than children of agriculturalists. Wasting peaks are seen in the first half of the year, usually during the dry or hunger season. In average years, the seasonal increase is about 5 percentage points. Internally displaced people and urban migrants have somewhat higher prevalence rates of wasting. Year-to-year differences are the largest, loosely correlated with drought at the national level but subject to local variations. Tracking changes in wasting prevalence over time at the area level--e.g., with time-series graphical presentations--facilitates interpretation of survey results obtained at any given time. Roughly, wasting prevalences exceeding 25% in pastoralists and 15% in agriculturalists (taking account of timing) indicate unusual malnutrition levels. Different populations should be judged by population-specific criteria, and invariant prevalence cutoff points avoided; interpretation rules are suggested. Survey estimates of wasting, when seen in the context of historical values and viewed as specific to different livelihood groups, can provide useful timely warning of the need for intervention to mitigate developing nutritional crises.