Food insecurity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in four African countries.

ABSTRACT: We document trends in food security up to one full year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in four African countries. Using household-level data collected by the World Bank, we highlight differences over time amid the pandemic, between rural and urban areas, and between female-headed and male-headed households within Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Nigeria. We first observe a sharp increase in food insecurity during the early months of the pandemic with a subsequent gradual decline. Next, we find that food insecurity has increased more in rural areas than in urban areas relative to pre-pandemic data within each of these countries. Finally, we do not find a systematic difference in changes in food insecurity between female-headed and male-headed households. These trends complement

SUBMITTER: Rudin-Rush L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9234064 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature