Ethiopia boosts efforts to tackle food and nutrition insecurity
Covid-19 has put entire countries under lockdown, reduced the agricultural workforce, and increased fluctuations in the demand and supply of agricultural produce. All these, and other food sector-related impacts of the pandemic, are exposing weaknesses in economic and social systems, and contributing to increased food, and nutrition insecurity.
In October 2019, Addis Abeba City Administration launched a school feeding programme that aimed to provide food to around 300,000 students in the capital. This was a planned scale up of the previous programme, which was targeted at the most needy students. The announcement was greatly welcomed by parents and children, but everything changed days after Ethiopia announced its first Covid-19 case on March 13, 2020. The nationwide closure of schools — one of the first measures taken to contain the pandemic — also blocked access to much-needed meals at a critical time for many families.
“This pandemic has changed our way of living,” says Aster (not her real name), a single mother raising two boys from her meagre earnings. She tells me that the school feeding programme had been a huge help in relieving some of stress of caring for her children. Now, parents like her not only have to worry about keeping their children safe and healthy, but also about giving them sufficient nutritious food.
While the school-based programme has closed, the city government is exploring other social protection programmes. One of these is the Urban Productive Safety Net Programme (UPSNP), which previously provided monthly cash transfers in exchange for work on public projects. However, the “food-for-work” component has been waived following the pandemic, enabling all beneficiaries to receive unconditional cash transfers, paid each quarter.
Other support — mostly donations of food and other basic needs — has come from individuals, as well as private companies, and non-governmental organizations. It is difficult, however, to find ways to sustain such noble acts for a longer period, or to ensure that those most in need have access to such support.
According to phone surveys conducted by IFPRI, households are also adjusting their consumption patterns in response to the pandemic. The study concluded that food security in Addis Abeba had deteriorated in the first few months of the crisis. In addition to economic factors, consumption behaviour in the early weeks was also influenced by widespread rumours that Covid-19 could be transmitted through eating vegetables, and poultry products. Half of the 589 households surveyed in April reported that they tried to avoid animal source foods, with 22% saying they were also avoiding vegetables. This has further contributed to poor nutrition for many families. It must be noted, however, that for the average household, these indicators did not deteriorate further between April and May.
The challenges faced by Ethiopia’s capital city are multiplied many times over across the country. According to development agencies, around four million Ethiopians, of which almost two-thirds are children, will require treatment for severe and acute malnutrition. Two United Nations agencies, UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP), have launched a partnership to support the country’s objective of decreasing acute malnutrition in children from nearly 10% to less than 3% by 2030. This target is also part of Ethiopia’s commitments towards the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and its corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
With the additional challenges brought about by the pandemic, Ethiopia is not on track to achieve its national targets under SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), which requires a 10-fold reduction in malnutrition annually over the next decade. According to Steven Were Omamo, WFP Representative and Country Director, the new partnership will provide a boost to government’s efforts to achieve improved nutrition, health, and education, for the current and future generations.
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.
