Session 3 Identifying Those Most at Risk of Food Insecurity During a Pandemic

Purpose of this session:  To become familiar with methods used to gather information that will help to assess who in a community: is currently most affected by poverty and hunger will suffer the most in terms of meeting household food needs during a pandemic.

Let’s review Food Security  availability - food is physically present.  access - individuals have the resources to obtain available food  utilization - people’s bodies are able to make the best use of the nutrients in the food they eat

What is Livelihood Security ?  Livelihood security refers to the ability to continuously maintain or enhance a healthy and secure life.  Livelihood Systems include Skills and abilities Assets (both material and social resources) Activities, decisions. people make

What is a Food and Livelihood Security Assessment (FSLA) ?  A FSLA identifies the poorest populations and those which will be at greatest risk in a disaster.

Purpose of a FLSA Decisions to protect food and livelihood security must be based on an understanding of the following:  The things that help people to survive each day—skills, abilities, material and social assets, activities, decisions made.  The impact of the pandemic on current and future food and livelihood security.  The groups that are most at risk of suffering from the impact

Conditions of groups typically at risk in all emergencies  Limited or irregular income  No emergency reserves of money or food  Poor health  Stigma  Isolation  Homeless or internally displaced  Elderly  Little or no transportation  Orphans and vulnerable children

Additional conditions which place groups at risk during a pandemic  Reliance on markets for the majority of food purchases  No knowledge about how to prepare for a pandemic  Employed in work sector that may be severely impacted (tourism, restaurants, taxi drivers, etc.)  Reliance on public transportation for work  Must migrate for income  Must care for dependents

How do we conduct a local FLSA ? Assemble a team to gather information using a variety of methods:  Community interviews  Key Informant interviews  Focus group discussions  Transect walks  Seasonal calendars

What will be different about collecting information during a pandemic? If social distancing measures are in place:  Community interviews are not appropriate  Focus group discussion should be smaller (5-6 people)  Household interviews may be the best option  Seasonal calendars can be used to organize info, but people should not be gathered to create a calendar

Who can help conduct the FLSA ?  Traders, health-care workers, school teachers, community workers, and agriculture technicians Good listening skills Comfortable interviewing people Ability to reflect and summarize Open attitude Good interpersonal skills Ability to adapt on the spot

What types of information should be collected? Ask specific questions about:  How people are making a living  How people are meeting their food needs  Who is currently most affected by poverty and hunger  Who may suffer most in the ability to provide food for their household during a pandemic

Making sense of collected information  Organize the collected information into patterns and categories using matrices, tables, etc...  Sort the population into livelihood groups

Making sense of collected information  Identify how the various livelihood groups access food and income. What skills and assets does each group have that help them to survive each day?  Determine who might need assistance.

Making sense of collected information  Determine why each group may need assistance. Could people protect themselves if they were provided with information and/or resources before the pandemic virus arrives?

Making sense of collected information Small Group Work  Turn to page 9 in the tool.  Looking at the sample chart, try to predict potential food and livelihood security problems that might surface for each group.  Who will be at-risk and why?  What are the strengths of each group?  What are the challenges ?

Choosing the most appropriate type of assistance A wide range of actions can support and protect food and livelihood security during a pandemic, including:  Widespread public awareness campaigns  Supporting/increasing the methods in which HH produce or process food.  Protecting access to market goods and services

Assessment Updates After the first wave of a pandemic passes, get better prepared for possible 2 nd and 3 rd waves Determine:  How the pandemic has affected people’s food and livelihood security  Who has suffered most  Who has been more resilient

Assessment Updates Update FLS information to determine how the pandemic has affected :  the different sources of food and income for each of the livelihood groups identified.  the amount of food that households eat.  the usual seasonal patterns of food security for the different groups.  access to markets and prices of essential goods.

Considerations  Is the collection of new information essential for decision-making?  Are other groups (governments, international organizations, NGOs, community groups, and so on) collecting similar information?

Thank You