Food insecurity and COVID-19 risk in low- and middle-income countries

Valerie Mueller; Karen A Grépin; Atonu Rabbani; Bianca Navia; Anne S W Ngunjiri; Nicole Wu

doi:10.1002/aepp.13200

Food insecurity and COVID-19 risk in low- and middle-income countries

Appl Econ Perspect Policy. 2022 Mar;44(1):92-109. doi: 10.1002/aepp.13200. Epub 2021 Oct 12.

Authors

Valerie Mueller^{1

2}, Karen A Grépin³, Atonu Rabbani⁴, Bianca Navia¹, Anne S W Ngunjiri⁵, Nicole Wu³

Affiliations

¹ School of Politics and Global Studies Arizona State University Tempe Arizona USA.
² Development Strategy and Governance Division International Food Policy Research Institute Washington District of Columbia USA.
³ School of Public Health University of Hong Kong Pok Fu Lam Hong Kong.
⁴ BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health University of Dhaka Dhaka Bangladesh.
⁵ LVCT Health Nairobi Kenya.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted social distancing, workplace closures, and restrictions on mobility and trade that had cascading effects on economic activity, food prices, and employment in low- and middle-income countries. Using longitudinal data from Bangladesh, Kenya, and Nigeria covering a period from October 2020 to April 2021, the paper assesses whether knowledge of a person infected with COVID-19 is associated with food insecurity, job loss and business closures, and coping strategies to smooth consumption. The likelihood of households to experience food insecurity at the extensive and intensive margins increased among those who knew an infected person in Bangladesh and Kenya.

Keywords: COVID‐19; food insecurity; low‐ and middle‐income countries.