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Food security status in southern Nepal: application of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale questions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2013

D. Kular ,
D. Devakumar ,
D. S. Manandhar ,
B. P. Shrestha ,
N. M. Saville  and
D. Osrin
D. Kular
Affiliation:
Institute for Global Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
D. Devakumar
Affiliation:
Institute for Global Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
D. S. Manandhar
Affiliation:
Mother and Infant Research Activities, GPO Box 921, Kathmandu, Nepal
B. P. Shrestha
Affiliation:
Mother and Infant Research Activities, GPO Box 921, Kathmandu, Nepal
N. M. Saville
Affiliation:
Institute for Global Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
D. Osrin
Affiliation:
Institute for Global Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
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Abstract

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Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 72 , Issue OCE5: Joint Nutrition Society, Belgian and French Nutrition Societies meeting 28–29 May 2013, Sustainable Diet and Food Security , 2013 , E314
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013 

Food security exists when people have access at all times to adequate, safe and nutritious food for a healthy and active life. Food insecurity contributes to poor health and nutritional outcomes( Reference Coates, Swindale and Bilinsky 1 ). We assessed food security status in a cohort of households in Nepal's central Terai.

Data were collected in Dhanusha district. Food insecurity was assessed with the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS)( Reference Coates, Swindale and Bilinsky 1 ), Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS)( Reference Swindale and Bilinsky 2 ) (7 day recall) and Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP)( Reference Bilinsky and Swindale 3 ). Socioeconomic status (SES) was determined by principal components analysis( Reference Vyas and Kumaranayake 4 ). Chi-squared tests were used to compare urban and rural households, and univariable regression models to assess associations between socioeconomic status and food security measures.

In 837 households (340 urban), mean HFIAS score was 0.69 (SD 2.80) and the prevalence of food insecurity was 8.6% (n = 72). There was no difference between urban and rural households. Mean HDDS was 9.24, and higher in urban households. 92% of respondents had no difficulty obtaining food in the past 12 months; 3% reported difficulty obtaining food for 3 months or longer. There was no difference between rural and urban locations except in the post-monsoon season, when rural households had greater food insecurity. A test for trend showed an inverse relationship between socioeconomic quintile and HFIAS score (p < 0.001). A positive association was seen between socioeconomic quintile and consumption of meat, dairy or eggs. Our data suggest a greater proportion of food secure households (50% vs 92%) than described in the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) for the central Terai( 5 ).

Most households in our cohort were food secure all year round and had a diverse dietary intake, considerably better than that shown in the NDHS. The likelihood of being food secure was related to SES and rural residents were more vulnerable than urban residents in the post-monsoon period.

References

1. Coates, J, Swindale, A & Bilinsky, P (2007) Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) for Measurement of Food Access: Indicator Guide.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Swindale, A & Bilinsky, P (2006) Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) for Measurement of Household Food Access: Indicator Guide.Google Scholar
3. Bilinsky, P & Swindale, A (2007) Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP) for Measurement of Household Food Access: Indicator Guide.Google Scholar
4. Vyas, S & Kumaranayake, L (2006) Constructing socio-economic status indices:how to use principal components analysis. Health Policy Plan, 21, 459–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) (2012) [Nepal], New ERA, and ICF International. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011. Kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Health and Population, New ERA, and ICF International.Google Scholar