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Abstract Objective: Water plays a critical role in the production of food and preparation of nutritious meals, yet few studies have examined the relationship between water and food insecurity. The primary objective of this study, therefore, was to examine how experiences of household water insecurity (HWI) relate to experiences of household food insecurity (HFI) among a pastoralist population living in an arid, water-stressed region of northern Kenya. Design: We implemented the twelve-item Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE, range 0–36) Scale and the nine-item Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS, range 0–27) in a cross-sectional survey to measure HWI and HFI, respectively. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and intake of meat and dairy in the prior week were collected as covariates of interest. Setting: Northern Kenya, June–July 2019. Participants: Daasanach pastoralist households ( n 136) from seven communities. Results: In the prior 4 weeks, 93·4 % and 98·5 % of households had experienced moderate-to-severe HWI and HFI, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated a strong association between HWI and HFI. Each point higher HWISE score was associated with a 0·44-point (95 % CI: 0·22, 0·66, P = 0·003) higher HFIAS score adjusting for socio-economic status and other covariates. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate high prevalence and co-occurrence of HWI and HFI among Daasanach pastoralists in northern Kenya. This study highlights the need to address HWI and HFI simultaneously when developing policies and interventions to improve the nutritional well-being of populations whose subsistence is closely tied to water availability and access.
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The dietary impacts of drought in a traditional pastoralist economy
Arid pastoralism is often understood as an adaptive strategy to marginal environments. As pastoralists become increasingly market integrated, novel dietary preferences and access to low quality market foods can erode traditional diets. These market‐based dietary shifts are particularly problematic during sustained drought, where reductions in traditional foods make pastoralists increasingly reliant on a cash economy. Among the Himba of the Kunene region in Namibia, colonial policies prohibiting access to livestock markets inhibit access to a cash‐based economy, leaving them vulnerable to food insecurity when nontraditional foods are needed to supplement traditional lifeways during drought. To understand the impacts of long‐term drought on diet and food insecurity, we collected longitudinal survey data on diet breadth and food insecurity across 4 years during a multi‐year drought.Participants completed a five‐item food insecurity survey and recalled diet breadth survey over the course of 4 years. Additionally, women completed a short survey of recent stressors, including health and resource stressors . We used a set of multilevel models to estimate changes in food insecurity items and diet breadth changes over the course of the study period.Multilevel models predicted score outcomes, as well as individual item responses, by year of data collection. Results indicate a 43% increase in average food insecurity and a 15% decline in average diet breadth over the study period. Dietary recall indicates that drought caused a reduction in sour milk intake, and an increase in nontraditional foods, but no change in meat or maize consumption.Conclusions Sustained drought in the Kunene region is having long‐term impacts on food insecurity, which could result in dietary shifts that outlast the current period of drought. We consider the implications of this change, especially as it relates to increasing market integration and reliance on a cash‐based over a subsistence‐based economy.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2218860
- PAR ID:
- 10476488
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- American Journal of Human Biology
- Volume:
- 35
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1042-0533
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23803
