COVID-19 on Food Insecurity Among Ecuadorian Women: A Survey Analysis
The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified concerns about food insecurity, prompting this research. An online pilot survey anonymously collected responses from a non-probability sample of 2,058 Ecuadorian women.
The Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Insecurity Experience Scale was used to measure moderate or severe food insecurity (MSFI).
Read this open access paper on the FACETS website.
Data quality was assessed using the Rasch item response theory model; this is a single-parameter logistic model that considers the severity of food insecurity as a latent trait.
The highest MSFI was found in women: they lacked resources for personal expenses (29.53%, 90%MoE=3.21) compared to those who had them (12.47, 90%MoE=1.40); who live in the Amazon region (21.37, 90%MoE=4.24) versus those who live in the Sierra (17.66%, 90%MoE=1.77) or on the Coast (13.44%, 90%MoE=2.40); with three or more children (20.97%, 90%MoE=4.71) versus those without children (12.63%, 90%MoE=3.57); who experienced a reduction in income during lockdown (18.31%, 90%MoE=2) compared to those who did not (15.71%, 90%MoE=1.85); who are rural residents (18.13%, 90%MoE=2.83) versus urban residents (16.63%, 90%MoE=1.55).
This study highlights that the most vulnerable Ecuadorian women experienced the highest levels of food insecurity during the lockdown, emphasizing the need to consider the intersection between income and sociodemographic factors and their impact on women’s food insecurity in future research and formulation of policies.
Read the paper — Social determinants of food insecurity experienced by Ecuadorian women during the COVID-19 pandemic of Summer 2020: an online survey at the individual level by Tannia Valeria Carpio Arias, Marta Guijarro-Garvi, Yadira Alejandra Morejón-Terán, and María Teresa Ruíz-Cantero.
