Food Security

Final Performance Evaluation of the ENSURE Development Food Assistance Program in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is rich in human and natural resources. However, for decades it has experienced food insecurity and poverty rooted in recurrent drought, economic instability, and policy decisions that severely undercut economic growth, agricultural production, and employment opportunities. The ENSURE project goal was to increase long-term food security among chronically food insecure rural households in 66 wards in six districts of Manicaland and Masvingo provinces, where food insecurity and stunting are higher than the national average. ENSURE’s main activities were to 1) improve nutrition among women of reproductive age and children under five years of age (CU5), 2) increase the income of vulnerable households, and 3) improve household resilience. Promoting gender equity in decision-making, access to financial services, and participation in project activities were cross-cutting priorities, as were environmental protection and disaster risk reduction. Read More...

Food Security and Gender Equality: A synergistic understudied symphony

As women keep feeding the world, we must give them the right space in our data collection methods and analysis to make the gaps they encounter visible and find solutions that include those. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between gender inequality values and food security scores worldwide combined with existing literature and rich studies on the links between gender and food in specific contexts to create powerful insights on the need that the world needs to produce, publish, and use more consistent data on gender equality and food. Read More...

Baseline Study of the Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs) in Niger

This report is a baseline study of three Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (legacy Office of Food for Peace [FFP] in Niger. Part of the Resilience in the Sahel-Enhanced (RISE) initiative, the RFSAs in Niger are: Girma in the Zinder region, implemented by Catholic Relief Services; Hamzari in the Maradi region, implemented by CARE; and Wadata in the Zinder region, implemented by Save the Children. The RFSAs aim to address critical challenges in food security, nutrition, and poverty, and to improve the resilience of households and communities. The baseline study included a representative population-based survey (PBS) of 2,325 households (775 households per RFSA area). Data collection was scheduled for May–April 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic fieldwork was suspended until local regulations and conditions indicated that face-to-face interviewing could safely resume with COVID-19 mitigation procedures in place. The survey was conducted in September 2020 and ended at the start of the harvest period in October 2020. The sample was selected using a multi-stage clustered sampling design to provide a statistically representative sample of the three RFSA areas. The questionnaire was streamlined from the standard FFP questionnaire for a non-permissive environment. Estimates of impact-level indicators pertaining to poverty and anthropometry were expected to be derived from the RISE II baseline survey, scheduled to take place a few months after the RFSA baseline survey. Read More...

FINAL NARRATIVE REPORT – Far Ban Bo – Protecting Fisheries Livelihood

The Far Ban Bo (FBB) is a four (4) year project with funding support from the European Union (EU). The project is implemented in thirty (30) districts in four coastal regions of Ghana (Western, Central, Greater Accra and Volta Regions) and one inland region. Specific project pilots are implemented in four (4) coastal communities (Dixcove, Anomabo, James Town, and Keta) and one inland community (Kpando-Torkor). The overall objective of the Far Ban Bo Project is to contribute to sustainable fisheries resources management to improve food security and nutrition and livelihoods of smallholder fishers and other users of fishery resources. The specific objective is that smallholder fishers and processers benefit from equitable and sustainable rights-based fisheries resources management. The project is expected to deliver three results to achieve its objectives. The expected results (ERs) of the project are:
1. Empowered Smallholder Fishery Associations take Active Part in Fisheries Governance;
2. Effective illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) Monitoring and Grievance Mechanisms Piloted; and
3. Social and Economic Safeguards Contribute to Improving Livelihoods and Nutritional Status of Smallholder Fishers and other Users of Fishery Resources Read More...

SOMALI RELIEF AND RECOVERY PROGRAM-SRRP

Due to repeated climate shocks, continued conflict, and protracted displacement mean that Somalia remains one of the most prolonged humanitarian crises in the world. Over 4.2 million people, including 2.5 million children are estimated to need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2019. Significant displacement and destitution driven by the 2016/17 drought and protracted conflict have left more than 1.5 million people across Somalia facing acute food insecurity through June 2019 with 903,100 children under the age of five are likely to be malnourished in 2019 including 138,200 who are likely to be severely malnourished. Women and children like in many other instances of conflicts represented the majority of the 2.6 million people displaced across the country.

The Somalia Relief and Recovery Project-SRRP's main goal was to address the most urgent and basic needs of drought-affected communities in Bari, Galgaduud, Lower Juba, Mudug, Sanaag, Hiraan, and Sool regions that have been severely affected by the recurrent drought crisis. In particular, the project aimed to improve access to safe water and hygiene in drought-affected communities, provide temporary employment opportunities, deliver treatment services for acutely malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women, provide basic health services, and protection services. The project also aimed at improving coordination through the Somalia NGO consortium to a concert and coordinate efforts to adequately address the recurrent humanitarian challenges in Somalia. Read More...

Economic support for COVID affected Women -Tiffany Foundation project.

The objective is to assess the extent to which the program had achieved its strategic objective of improved food security to drought-affected households in the target locations according to a baseline survey carried out earlier in April. The study focused on assessing the status of vulnerable women, whose economic mainstay has been affected by the recurrent shocks & stress and had difficulties accessing essential services. Also, the maternal health situation reflects the prevalences of morbidity and mortality cases caused either during pregnancy or childbirth/delivery. The delay of rains, desert locust invasion, and supply chain disruption with COVID19 hazards had adversely affected food security and nutrition outcomes, which exacerbated vulnerable households’ nutritional status and wellbeing. Read More...

EMERGENCY FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM-EFSP II

This end-of-project evaluation study was carried out between August and September 2021. The overall purpose of the evaluation was to assess the extent to which the program had achieved its strategic objective of improved food security for drought-affected households in the target locations. This included the use of the OECD- DAC criteria, more specifically Relevance and Appropriateness, Efficiency and Effectiveness as well as the project’s impact on the community. Read More...

Análisis Rápido de Género – ARG / Honduras, 2021. Desafíos para las mujeres y niñas ante una sostenida crisis sanitaria y ambiental.

El 2020, como resultado de los efectos de las crisis sanitaria y ambiental, se caracterizó por evidenciar y profundizar las deficiencias y limitaciones que
enfrenta Honduras en lo relacionado con: las brechas estructurales preexistentes y sus consecuencias en términos de seguridad y desigualdad, especialmente la profundización en la desigualdad de género; las carencias y debilidades de los sistemas de servicios esenciales a nivel sanitario y de protección social; las debilidades del sistema productivo - empresarial y la fragilidad de los procesos económicos del país; y las debilidades existentes en aspectos relacionadas con la infraestructura, las estrategias para la gestión de riesgos y la capacidad de respuesta ante fenómenos naturales.

Esto ha provocado un estancamiento o retroceso en aspectos relacionados con el acceso a medios de vida, a derechos económicos y sociales, y a derechos humanos fundamentales. Sin embargo, se debe subrayar que aunque ambas crisis afectaron directa o indirectamente a toda la población hondureña, su impacto es evidentemente desigual ya que resultó mayormente adverso para los grupos y la población más vulnerable, especialmente las mujeres y niñas. En consecuencia, han empeorado las condiciones y calidad de vida de la población subsistiendo en situación de pobreza o expuesta a alguna condición de riesgo ya sea física, psicológica, social, ambiental, económica o estructural. Esto preocupa en particular si adicionalmente se considera que Honduras está catalogado como uno de los países con mayor desigualdad en el área latinoamericana. El ARG buscó proporcionar recomendaciones prácticas para diseñar estrategias que permitan brindar una respuesta diferenciada a las principales necesidades y brechas humanitarias identificadas, y permitió identificar aquellos factores afectados por ambas crisis y que inciden negativamente en la protección a los derechos humanos fundamentales y en la calidad de vida de los grupos más vulnerables del país. Read More...

Análisis de Contexto Sobre Necesidades Humanitarias Bajo Escenario de Inseguridad Alimentaria Honduras, América Central.

Honduras es un país vulnerable a distintas amenazas naturales. Las tormentas se han hecho cada vez más frecuentes solo en la temporada de huracanes del Atlántico de 2020 fue la más activa de la historia y la quinta consecutiva en superar el promedio de actividad. Se registraron 30 tormentas tropicales con nombre, de las cuales 13 se convirtieron en huracanes, de estos 2 afectaron directamente Honduras (Eta e Iota en aproximadamente 10 días ambos meteoros azotaron el país, generando impactos adversos y evidenciando las condiciones de vulnerabilidad. En los últimos años se ha registrado un aumento significativo de afectación por fenómenos naturales, sociales, políticos, económicos que han puesto en evidencia las necesidades humanitarias de la población. Al respecto la Oficina de Coordinación Asuntos humanitarios (OCHA) de Naciones Unidas en abril 2020 estimaba que poco más de 2.7 millones de personas afectadas y de éstas al menos 1.3 millones de personas con necesidades humanitarias inmediatas, las principales afectaciones estaban asociadas con una pobreza endémica, unos desastres y choques climáticos recurrentes, y una violencia crónica endémica de difícil control.

La Unidad Técnica de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (UTSAN) estimó que de diciembre 2020 a marzo de 2021, por lo menos 2.9 millones de personas (31% de la población analizada) se encuentran en crisis alimentaria o peor, Fase 3 o superiora según la Clasificación Integrada en Fases de la Seguridad Alimentaria (CIF) y por tanto requieren acciones urgentes, esto asociado tanto efectos actuales por las tormentas y la pandemia como a la sequía prolongada en corredor seco y problemas estructurales como la pobreza y la desigualdad, entre otros. Ante ese escenario tan complejo de necesidades humanitarias se desarrolla un esfuerzo conjunto entre CARE, ASONOG, ADEPES, CASM, OCDIH para realizar en el periodo de mayo-junio del año en curso un proceso de análisis que contribuya a tener una actualización sobre las necesidades humanitarias en relación a inseguridad alimentaria en poblaciones en municipios y departamentos de influencia, así como la identificación de soluciones desde la perspectiva local frente a la problemática multidimensional que está propiciando un deterioro en la calidad de vida las poblaciones más vulnerables y de privación de derechos básicos. Read More...

Water for Food Security, Women’s Empowerment and Environmental Protection Project (SWEEP) Gender Assessment II

East and West Belesa woredas (districts) are located in the central Gondar zone of Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. The people of East and West Belesa woredas are dependent on subsistence farming and rain fed agriculture in a context of recurrent drought and severe land degradation. The overwhelming majority live in extreme poverty and face food shortages as a result of the frequent shocks these conditions expose them to. The condition is more devastating for women, girls and marginalized households – for example, female-headed households and households including persons with disability who are often excluded from social and economic entitlements.
CARE, with the financial support from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and funds from Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) has implemented a three years' (October 2017 to September 2020 – then extended to February 2021) project titled "Water for Food Security, Women's Empowerment and Environmental Protection (SWEEP)" to address the socio-economic and environmental problems causing food insecurity in 20 kebeles of east and west Belesa woredas. The project was implemented by CARE in collaboration with local government, communities and universities. To increase the resilience of households, the SWEEP project followed an integrated and holistic project implementation approach, which put marginalized people at the center.
At the end of the project period, a gender assessment was conducted to see and capture the changes in the lives of women; especially the results of the women empowerment and the social norms change components of the project. Findings from the Rapid Gender Assessment (May 2017) and In-depth gender Assessment (May 2018) were used as a baseline to compare the before and after situation of women in the community. This report is prepared to share the findings of the end line gender assessment II, which was conducted between December 14 and 23, 2020. Read More...

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