Food and Nutrition Security

Guatemala: A food insecurity constant reality

From 2020 to 2022, 21.1% of Guatemala’s population was affected by severe food insecurity, with a gender food gap of 0.3 million. According to a study conducted by CARE in Guatemala in 2022 in Guatemala’s dry corridor, 42% of households had exhausted all grain from the previous harvest; 33% had grain reserves lasting only three more months or less; 21% of households incurred debt to purchase food; 38% of households reduced their meal sizes; 22% of respondents ate less or abstained entirely, prioritizing their children's meals; 31% skipped at least one meal daily. IPC predicted that food security is expected to deteriorate from June to August 2023, due to the rise in food prices. In total, it is estimated that approximately 604 thousand people (3% of the population) are in Emergency (Phase 4) and close to 3.6 million (21% of the population) in Crisis (Phase 3).
Read More...

IMPACT OF SANCTIONS ON FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS IN NIGER Rapid Analysis Results in Tillabéry

The humanitarian situation in Niger was already urgent prior to the July 2023 political crisis and the imposition of sanctions by the international community. 4.3 million people, approximately 17% of Niger’s population, are in need of humanitarian assistance and 3.3 million people are projected to be experiencing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity. CARE recently conducted focus group discussions (FGD) in Tillabéry to determine how the crisis has affected food prices, livelihoods, and coping strategies for communities. Eight sex-disaggregated FGDs with 64 participants were completed at the end of August 2023 to analyze crisis impacts, especially for the most vulnerable, and to inform age, gender and disability-responsive humanitarian response in Niger.
ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF SANCTIONS ON FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS:
Women and men reported facing challenges in sustaining their eating habits in the months and weeks to come, with women and girls reporting more difficulty maintaining current consumption patterns. 75% of the women’s FGDs reported that they would not be able to sustain current eating habits at all and only one all-women’s group estimated their normal food consumption to continue for only 2 weeks. All 4 men’s groups reported that they would all be able to maintain current eating habits, but only for approximately 30-90 days beyond survey time.
RISING FOOD PRICES: ⅔ of participants attributed the rise in food prices to the political crisis and subsequently imposed sanctions. Maize and rice, staple items in most household diets, are reported to have increased by 75% and 28% respectively one month after the crisis. Read More...

Afghanistan Multi Sector Needs Assessment 2023

According to Humanitarian Needs Overview 2023, a staggering 28.3 million people (two thirds of Afghanistan’s population) are in need for urgent humanitarian assistance in order to survive as the country enters its third consecutive year of drought-like conditions and the second year of crippling economic decline, while still reeling from the effects of years of continued disaster

In March 2023, CARE conduct the Multi-sectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA) to assess the condition of needs, vulnerabilities, and poverty in the selected communities within mentioned provinces to help inform proposals to potential donor for lifesaving responses in sectors of EiE, Health, Nutrition, Livelihood, WASH and some integrated GBV and nutrition interventions for longer-term support to address their ongoing vulnerabilities.
This research covered 381 people (50% women) in 9 provinces in Afghanistan. Most respondents were between 24-45 years old, and 83% were host community members. The other 17% were internally displaced people.
Read More...

Nigeria State Of Emergency Declaration On Food Security: A Policy Brief

In recent times, insecurity, climate change and its effects (including seasonal flooding, competing resource use and open conflict) and high inflation have brought Nigeria to the brink of a food crisis. Between January and April 2023, it was estimated by a consortium of UN agencies and other partners (October Cadre Harmonise, including WFP and UNICEF) that as many as 25m people could face food insecurity between June and August of 2023.
This comes at a time when the Global Economic Outlook report H1 2023, KPMG, estimated the unemployment rate in Nigeria at the end of 2022 at 37.7% while estimating that this would rise to 40.6% in 2023 and 43% in 20241. The World Poverty Clock indicates that 71 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty, the largest number globally.
The real impact of these hikes on inflation and food inflation will not be statistically revealed until the respective rates for July are released since these would be based on data for June. We, however, know from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as well as from market surveys and observations, that a significant contributing factor to the price of goods and services in general, and food prices in particular, is the cost of transportation of food across the food value
chain - the cost of transportation of inputs and farm labour to the farm; the cost of transportation of farm produce to storage facilities, and or markets; the cost of transportation of processed food to markets, etc. among others. Read More...

She Feeds the World Peru Final Evaluation

From April 2019 to December 2022, CARE PERU implements the project "She Feeds the World" - SFtW (SFtW - She Feeds the World), a program launched by the PepsiCo Foundation through CARE USA in several countries. The purpose of the project has been to reduce chronic malnutrition and anemia in children under 5 years old and increase the income of 4,000 poor families residing in 4 prioritized districts, corresponding to the provinces of Lima, Ica and Sullana with a gender approach. The target group are children under 5 years old and pregnant women.
The project considered as areas of change, to achieve its results, to work on the economic empowerment of women, improvement of nutrition and feeding practices, increase in access and control of productive resources, and increase in access to market opportunities. The project was organized into three components; Promotion of healthy practices and environments for maternal and child care in prioritized districts of the regions of Lima, Ica and Piura, Increased income of 4,000 households (16,000 beneficiaries) in poor communities in prioritized districts of the regions of Lima, Ica and Piura in a sustainable and inclusive manner, and Development of Strategic Alliances and Political Advocacy to improve maternal and child nutrition and local economic development with a gender approach. It should be noted that the project had a goal at the end of the action (December 2022) of directly reaching 54,000 women, men and children and indirectly benefiting 358,450 people, in this case through advocacy and scaling strategies, with a full scope estimated of 412,450 people.
At the end of the implementation, CARE PERÚ entrusts ESTRATEGIA, a consulting company, to conduct the final evaluation assessment of the project "She Feeds the World - Peru", to measure the level of achievement of the planned objectives and implemented strategies; as well as the status of the project indicators. Read More...

Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) Mid Term Evaluation

This Assignment was commissioned by CARE DENMARK – the Lead Partner of the Consortium of five (5) Partner Institutions (namely, CARE; Catholic Relief Services (CRS); Gulu Agricultural Development Company (GADC); Dynamic Agro-Pastoral Development Organization (DADO); and SORUDA) – to carry out the Mid-term Evaluation (MTE) of the “Inclusive Market-based Development for Smallholder Farmers in Karamoja, Teso and Acholi Sub-regions” Project – implemented by the Consortium. The Project is supported by the European Union (EU) – under the Supervision of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), through the 11 Project Area District Local Governments of: Abim, Kotido, Karenga, Kaabong, Moroto, Amudat, Nakapiripirit, Nabilatuk, Napak; as well as Katakwi and Kitgum – in partnership with other stakeholders – on behalf of the Government of Uganda.
The Overall Objective of the Mid-term Evaluation (MTE), was to: “review the implementation of the project, since its inception – with the aim of generating evidence towards promoting project performance improvement, accountability, learning and evidence-based decision-making and management”. In particular, the Evaluation was intended to: “assess results achieved to date in comparison with the outcome indicators outlined in the Project Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning framework”. Accordingly, the MTE report documents: the background to the Assignment; the general approach to work and methodology employed; Project design (including relevance and coherence); as well as Project management systems, processes and operational environments. It also documents: Project performance and effectiveness during the period under review – up to its mid-term point; as well as the identified major achievements; challenges; constraints; risks; weaknesses and threats that characterized the Project. Lastly, it, further, documents resource management and efficiency in Project implementation; project “impact”; sustainability of Project Interventions and outcomes; the major conclusions; recommendations for the way forward; as well as lessons learnt – over the period under review. Read More...

N utrition Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) Survey for DINU Program in North and North-Eastern Uganda

Background: The Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) is a Government of Uganda integrated programme. It is implemented in districts that include the 11 of Kitgum (Acholi), Nakapiripirit, Amudat, Nabilatuk, Napak, Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong, Karenga and Abim (Karamoja), and Katakwi (Teso) sub-regions for three years from 2020 – 2022. The overall supervision is with the Office of the Prime Minister through local governments in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders. DINU supports interventions in three specific interlinked programs: (1) Food Security, Nutrition and Livelihoods (2) Transport Infrastructures and (3) Good Governance. The CARE consortium focusses on the sector of food security, nutrition and livelihoods with specific emphasis on community-based interventions. A survey was launched by the CARE Consortium partners with the overall objective of generating comprehensive gender sensitive Nutrition Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) information in the targeted 11 CARE consortium districts. It is intended to help inform the implementation of the nutrition component of the DINU project.
Methodology: The KAP survey was conducted from 17th November to 8th December 2020 in the 11 districts. The study populations were mothers and/or caregivers in household with children aged 0-23 months, adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 years with or without children 0-23months. Key district, subcounty and community leaders who played crucial role in programming for MIYCAN related interventions were reached. A cross-sectional survey utilising both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was used. Sample size estimation was based on WHO Vaccination Coverage Cluster Survey guidance, July 2015. Household questionnaire comprising of 5 modules was adapted from the FAO manual for assessing nutrition related KAP. Semi-structured interview guides were used to facilitate the Key Informants Interviews and Focus Group Discussions. Quantitative data collection was done using mobile phones through Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) working on the Open Data Kit (ODK) platform and hosted on the ONA platform. Quantitative Data analysis was done using SPSS 26. Qualitative data analysis was done based on the interpretative approach that involved eliciting meanings from the collected information. A total of 164 clusters were reached, 1,139 households, 1,158 children aged 0 to 23months, 1,112 women and 452 adolescents from all the 11 districts. Meanwhile, 22 FGDs and 44 key informant interviews were conducted. Read More...

Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) Value Chains and Market Assessment report

The CARE consortium comprising of partner organisations such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Gulu Agricultural Development Company (GADC), Dynamic Agro Pastoral Development Organization (DADO) and SORUDA are currently implementing a three-year project titled “Inclusive Market Based Development for Small Holder farmers in Northern Uganda. This project contributes to the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) – A Government of Uganda program aimed at consolidating stability in Northern Uganda, eradicating poverty and under nutrition and strengthening the foundations for sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development. Specifically, the project under the CARE consortium contributes to DINU’s specific Objective one on: ‘Improving livelihoods through increased production of diversified food, enhanced market opportunities and better maternal and child nutrition.’ The CARE consortium currently targets 11 districts including: Abim, Kotido, Karenga, Kaabong, Moroto, Amudat, Nakapiripirit, Napak, Katakwi and Kitgum. Given this background, the study sought to:
• Map out existing and new Agricultural and non-Agricultural value chains and assess their potential to promote women and youth economic empowerment, and community-based nutrition and household incomes.
• Identify challenges, specific entry barriers for women and youth into the VC and opportunities along the Value chains of; 1) crops such as Soybean, groundnuts, nutritious potato, vegetable, etc.); 2) Honey; and 3) livestock (small ruminants, and other non-Agricultural value chain) and propose ways of addressing these challenges.
• Develop an individual VCs, including mapping of actors, actions, supporting functions, institutions, policy issues, along each chain and propose recommendations for specific gender sensitive value chain activities that promote women and Youth participation and economic empowerment (employment opportunities as well as increasing their incomes along the chain).
• Assess the market structure (players, channels, sourcing), demand and supply (product specifications, prices, volumes, preferences), trends, market opportunities and challenges for the different value enterprises above Read More...

Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) End of Project Report

The Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) was a 38-month project implemented between January 2020 and February 2023, with an aim to improve food security, maternal and child nutrition, and household incomes for smallholder farmers in 11 districts of Kitgum, Katakwi, Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Moroto, Napak, Nabilatuk, Nakapiriprit, Amudat, and Abim. The project was implemented by a consortium led by CARE Denmark, alongside partners such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Gulu Agricultural Development Company (GADC), Dynamic Agro-Pastoral Development Organization (DADO), and Soroti Rural Development Agency (SORUDA). The project had three major outcomes: increased production of diversified food by both men and women smallholder farmers, enhanced market accessibility for these farmers, and improved nutrition and Family Planning services through gender-responsive community-based approaches.

The Project employed an Inclusive Market Development-Based approach, emphasizing economic gender equality, women empowerment, youth engagement, and community-based nutrition, while also focusing on the value chain. This strategy involved multi-stakeholder engagement and synergizing with existing government and development partner initiatives like DADO, CRS, and SORUDA. By implementing this approach, the project provided smallholder farmers with opportunities to enhance their incomes through the cultivation of high-value crops, such as sesame, cotton, soybean, and iron-rich beans. Additionally, measures were taken to ensure sustainability, including integrating activities into the government's PDM approach, building capacity among extension staff, and linking VSLA/SILC/YSLA/PMGs groups to financial institutions and agro input service providers.
A crucial aspect of the project was empowering women and youth, often marginalized in agriculture and rural development. Women were trained in Climate-Smart Agriculture and offered access to markets and finance through VSLA/SILC groups. Furthermore, Role Model Men were involved in raising awareness on gender-responsive actions, family planning, and women empowerment within smallholder farmers' households, fostering attitudinal changes towards gender equality and encouraging women to play an active role in agricultural production.

To achieve success, the project effectively engaged both public and private extension workers, disseminating information on Climate-Smart Agriculture practices to smallholder farmers and boosting production and income. Additionally, collaboration with Tillage Service Providers promoted entrepreneurship among youth and reduced manual labor burdens for smallholder farmers.
Read More...

GAP ANALYSIS AND LINKAGE READINESS ASSESSMENT FOR YOUTH/VILLAGE SAVINGS AND LOANS ASSOCIATIONS (Y/VSLAs)

The Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU), a Government of Uganda initiative with support from European Union, supervised by the Office of the Prime Minister is being implemented by a consortium led by CARE Denmark. The program is being implemented in the Karamoja sub region (covering 11 districts) as well as Kitgum and Katakwi districts. CARE Denmark commissioned gap analysis for Y/VSLA linkage to identify interventions aimed at contributing to improved access to credit through community saving and credit schemes.

The objectives of the study included gap analysis of Y/VSLAs, linkage readiness assessment for mature Y/VSLAs and evaluation “digital readiness” of group members. A representative sample of 773 Y/VSLAs from drawn from all the project districts were covered the study. The sample was classified in three categories: Mature groups totalling 350 (45.3%) Mature and ready for Linkage groups, 390 (50.5%) and Watch Category/Maturing groups and 33 (4.3%)

The analysis revealed that the gaps identified in Mature and Ready-for-linkage Y/VSLAs were closely similar to those in Watch Category (Maturing Groups) category and required more or less similar interventions.
Read More...

Filter Evaluations

Clear all