Covid-19 response could increase nutritional insecurity in Kenya
Recently, the Ministry of Health released nutrition guidelines for Kenyans to observe so as to maintain body health and strengthen their immune system amidst Covid-19. In brief, the guidelines highlight the importance of a diverse diet for special groups, including lactating and pregnant women, babies, children and all other people. The guide further recommends that people regularly consume foods from five food groups to ensure optimal nutrition.
In light of additional financial pressure currently faced by most households in the country, some critical questions need to be asked. For example, are these foods available in the market at an affordable price? And can low income Kenyans afford a diverse diet?
Income losses and lower purchasing power
Before Covid-19, a significant number of Kenyans were already grappling with different forms of hunger, malnutrition and stunting. According to UNICEF, 2.56 million Kenyans were food insecure in 2019.
To rub salt in the wound, an estimated 133,657 Kenyans have lost their entire livelihoods due to Covid-19. Many others have been forced to take unpaid leave, or pay cuts. With international travel at a standstill, and a national lock-down in place, the entire tourism sector is close to collapse. At the same time, local travel restrictions, which include reduced passenger capacity to adhere to social distancing guidelines, are bringing the transport sector to its knees.
The resulting income losses for a broad cross-section of Kenyans translate into lower purchasing power, and changes to consumer behaviour. Budgets in many households have been stretched to a breaking point. Food purchases have been reduced to focus on staples, which are generally cheaper, energy dense, and can be stored for longer. Other coping mechanisms include reducing portion sizes, skipping meals, and eliminating more expensive food groups, such as meat and dairy products. Under such circumstances, it is unrealistic to expect these households to adhere to the nutrition guidelines on diet diversity.
Disruptions across the food chain
In a recent article, I explored how small-scale retailers of perishable goods have been impacted by Covid-19. Their experiences are not unique: they reflect the disruption that is being experienced across entire supply chains. The farmer either cannot access the urban market, or is afraid of selling in the urban market due to the risk of infection. The restrictions on movement, including a night curfew, mean that the input supplier has difficulty in reaching the farmer. Wholesale consumers, such as schools, hotels and other institutions, have either cut down on their orders, or completely eliminated consumption. This is leading to massive post-harvest losses for farmers with perishable produce. Similarly, small-scale retailers have lost markets to sell at as the consumer has lost their purchasing power.
Given that fruits and vegetables are among foods with the highest nutritional value, even a slight disruption in the supply chain of such perishable produce greatly impacts the availability, accessibility, nutrition, palatability and price of the food.
Are food donations “fit for nutritional purpose”?
So far, most of the content of packages donated to vulnerable households largely consist of rice, sugar, wheat flour, maize meal, soap and oil. Not only does this package forgo the inability of the receivers to access fuel to cook, it also eliminates entire nutritional food groups, such as proteins and vitamins. Emergency feeding programmes should be packaged in a way that delivers essential macro and micronutrients. This could be through adding supplements and therapeutic foods into the diet. While providing staple foods might meet the energy needs, protein and micronutrient diversity needs should be met for optimum health.
The provision of cash transfers, rather than food donations, is an alternative approach that allows a family to actualise their right to a diverse and nutritious diet, as long as there is availability of sufficient affordable food in the market.
So far, most efforts in the Covid-19 response has been focused on the health crisis. But ignoring the nutrition dimension could mean undermining the long-term health of entire sections of the population, which will not only affect recovery from the virus, but prove to have a higher economic cost in the long run.
The impact of Covid-19 on the food system should therefore be minimised by keeping markets and food supply open, while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Ultimately, this protects the interests of smallholder farmers, distributors and the consumer.
Written by Sharon Cheboi
This article is part of Covid-19 Food/Future, an initiative under TMG ThinkTank for Sustainability’s SEWOH Lab project (https://www.tmg-thinktank.com/sewoh-lab). It aims at providing a unique and direct insight into the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on national and local food systems. Also follow @CovidFoodFuture, our Video Diaries From Nairobi, and @TMG_think on Twitter. Funding for this initiative is provided by BMZ, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
