The food security continuum: a novel tool for understanding food insecurity as a range of experiences

Abstract

The current lack of consensus on the relationships between hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity frustrates efforts to design good policies and programs to deal with the many problems. Disputes over terminology distract from the need for urgent action. This paper argues that our understanding of food insecurity is incremental: it develops as new research in a variety of food-deprived and nutrition-deprived contexts reveals causes, experiences and consequences and how they are interlinked. If we are to improve beneficiary selection, program targeting and intervention impact assessment, it is vital to coordinate our new understandings. The paper brings convergence to our understanding of food insecurity by introducing a new framework that visualizes levels of food insecurity, and the concomitant consequences and responses, as a continuum. Some potential benefits of using the continuum as a diagnostic tool are increased focus on less extreme but nevertheless urgent manifestations of food insecurity, more accurate targeting of interventions and better follow-up, and improved accountability for donor spending.

Implications of Climatic and Non-climatic Variables on Food Security in Developing Economies: A Conceptual Review

“…Poverty is significant cause for food insecurity [9][10][11]15,47], it is the prime cause of hunger and at the same time hunger is the cause of poverty and under nutrition. Figure 1 show the poverty situation for different economies of the world.…”

“…It can be measured at global, national and household/individual level [55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62]. Precisely, food security at global level does not guarantee that food availability at national level, and at national level does not necessary that food is available at household/individual level [47]. There is existence a hierarchical structure in food security at individual-household, households-community, community-region, region-country and country-global level [55].…”

Food Security Indicators in India Compared to Similar Countries

“…As indicated earlier, public outcry over higher prices, consumer activism in addition to the fairly efficient PDS in India help in reducing price volatility. Domestic food price volatility is higher in South Asia (excluding India; 21) followed by Congo (19), lower-middle-income countries (8.5), India (8) and Southern Africa (5.3) (Figure 9). …”

“…Food utilization is becoming far more important as the ultimate aim of humanity is proper utilization of the available food for a healthy life 6,7 . Food availability is important but not a sufficient condition for food utilization 8 . Even countries like Hong Kong and Singapore are not selfsufficient in food, but they are more food secure than India.…”

What are we measuring? Comparison of household food security indicators in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

“…If we are to target our interventions effectively, we need to define the experiences, causes and consequences of food insecurity clearly and understand how the multiple dimensions reinforce and compound the problem (Hendriks 2015). Such clarity will help us to predict more accurately who is in need of immediate assistance and who will be adversely affected by shocks, and thus to design more appropriate programs and determine whether our interventions are effective.…”