Improving household food security in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: a comparative analysis of four interventions

Improving household food security in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: a comparative... Food insecurity contributes to poor nutritional status of many populations, but long-term approaches to improving household food insecurity have not been widely evaluated. This study evaluates the effectiveness of four interventions, Women’s Empowerment Groups (WEG), Prevention of Malnutrition in Children under 2 Approach (PM2A), Farmer Field Schools (FFS), and the Farmer to Farmer approach (F2F), implemented in the context of a five-year Development Food Assistance Program in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A community-matched quasi-experimental design was used. Primary outcome measures included Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Mean HDDS was significantly greater than the control group for three interventions (FFS, WEG, PM2A; ß: 0.69–0.88, p < 0.001 for all) as was the difference in proportion of households achieving target HDDS compared to the control group (12.3–21.7%, p < 0.001 for all). HFIAS score was significantly lower for all interventions compared to the control group, but smaller gains were seen in F2F (ß: -2.06 - -4.59, p < 0.001 for all). The adjusted difference in proportion of households improving in HFIAS category compared to controls was significant for all groups, but smallest among F2F (15.0–26.7%, p < 0.05 for all). WEG, PM2A, and FFS interventions had significant effects on improving household dietary diversity and food security; the F2F approach was less effective. Food insecurity remained prevalent despite the interventions, suggesting more research is needed to understand the pathways through which they were effective and how interventions could be strengthened to improve food insecurity in post-conflict settings. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Food Security Springer Journals

Improving household food security in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: a comparative analysis of four interventions

12 pages
Read Article

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer_journal/improving-household-food-security-in-eastern-democratic-republic-of-ZyHwfY0cAo
Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature and International Society for Plant Pathology
Subject
Life Sciences; Agriculture; Food Science; Social Policy; Plant Sciences; Environment, general; Social Sciences, general
ISSN
1876-4517
eISSN
1876-4525
D.O.I.
10.1007/s12571-018-0808-1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Food insecurity contributes to poor nutritional status of many populations, but long-term approaches to improving household food insecurity have not been widely evaluated. This study evaluates the effectiveness of four interventions, Women’s Empowerment Groups (WEG), Prevention of Malnutrition in Children under 2 Approach (PM2A), Farmer Field Schools (FFS), and the Farmer to Farmer approach (F2F), implemented in the context of a five-year Development Food Assistance Program in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A community-matched quasi-experimental design was used. Primary outcome measures included Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Mean HDDS was significantly greater than the control group for three interventions (FFS, WEG, PM2A; ß: 0.69–0.88, p < 0.001 for all) as was the difference in proportion of households achieving target HDDS compared to the control group (12.3–21.7%, p < 0.001 for all). HFIAS score was significantly lower for all interventions compared to the control group, but smaller gains were seen in F2F (ß: -2.06 - -4.59, p < 0.001 for all). The adjusted difference in proportion of households improving in HFIAS category compared to controls was significant for all groups, but smallest among F2F (15.0–26.7%, p < 0.05 for all). WEG, PM2A, and FFS interventions had significant effects on improving household dietary diversity and food security; the F2F approach was less effective. Food insecurity remained prevalent despite the interventions, suggesting more research is needed to understand the pathways through which they were effective and how interventions could be strengthened to improve food insecurity in post-conflict settings.

Journal

Food Security – Springer Journals

Published: May 14, 2018

References

  • Women's participation in household decision-making and higher dietary diversity: Findings from nationally representative data from Ghana
    Amugsi, DA; Lartey, A; Kimani, E; Mberu, BU
  • Development economics. A multifaceted program causes lasting progress for the very poor: Evidence from six countries
    Banerjee, A; Duflo, E; Goldberg, N; Karlan, D; Osei, R; Parienté, W
  • Randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of a soybean-maize-sorghum-based ready-to-use complementary food paste on infant growth in south Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
    Bisimwa, G; Owino, VO; Bahwere, P; Dramaix, M; Donnen, P; Dibari, F; Collins, S
  • Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries
    Black, RE; Victora, CG; Walker, SP; Bhutta, ZA; Christian, P; Onis, M; Ezzati, M; Grantham-McGregor, S; Katz, J; Martorell, R; Uauy, R
  • Mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A nationwide survey
    Coghlan, B; Brennan, RJ; Ngoy, P; Dofara, D; Otto, B; Clements, M; Stewart, T
  • Leveraging prognostic baseline variables to gain precision in randomized trials
    Colantuoni, E; Rosenblum, M
  • Reducing child global undernutrition at scale in Sofala Province, Mozambique, using care group volunteers to communicate health messages to mothers
    Davis, TP; Wetzel, C; Hernandez Avilan, E; Mendoza Lopes, C; Chase, RP; Winch, PJ
  • Systematic review of the efficacy and effectiveness of complementary feeding interventions in developing countries
    Dewey, KG; Adu-Afarwuah, S
  • Credit program outcomes: Coping capacity and nutritional status in the food insecure context of Ethiopia
    Doocy, S; Teferra, S; Norell, D; Burnham, G
  • Preventing malnutrition in children under two (PM2A): A case study in the food insecure context of South Sudan
    Doocy, S; Tappis, H; Paul, A; Klemm, R; Funna, S
  • An introduction to basic concepts of food security
  • The state of food security in the world - 2015
  • Lorelogram: A regression approach to exploring dependence in longitudinal categorical responses
    Heagerty, PJ; Zeger, SL
  • Effect of a nutrition intervention during early childhood on economic productivity in Guatemalan adults
    Hoddinott, J; Maluccio, JA; Behrman, JR; Flores, R; Martorell, R
  • Understanding the impact of a microfinance-based intervention on women's empowerment and the reduction of intimate partner violence in South Africa
    Kim, JC; Watts, CH; Hargreaves, JR; Ndhlovu, LX; Phetla, G; Morison, LA; Busza, J; Porter, JDH; Pronyk, P
  • Randomized controlled trial of meat compared with multimicronutrient-fortified cereal in infants and toddlers with high stunting rates in diverse settings
    Krebs, NF; Mazariegos, M; Chomba, E; Sami, N; Pasha, O; Tshefu, A; Carlo, WA; Goldenberg, RL; Bose, CL; Wright, LL; Koso-Thomas, M; Goco, N; Kindem, M; McClure, EM; Westcott, J; Garces, A; Lokangaka, A; Manasyan, A; Imenda, E; Hartwell, TD; Hambidge, KM
  • Beyond the field: The impact of farmer field schools on food security and poverty alleviation
    Larsen, AF; Lilleør, HB
  • The impact of improving nutrition during early childhood on education among Guatemalan adults
    Maluccio, JA; Hoddinott, J; Behrman, JR; Martorell, R; Quisumbing, AR; Stein, AD
  • Neither a zinc supplement nor phytate-reduced maize nor their combination enhance growth of 6- to 12-month-old Guatemalan infants
    Mazariegos, M; Hambidge, KM; Westcott, JE; Solomons, NW; Raboy, V; Das, A
  • Household food insecurity and dietary diversity as correlates of maternal and child undernutrition in rural Cambodia
    McDonald, CM; McLean, J; Kroeun, H; Talukder, A; Lynd, LD; Green, TJ
  • Democratic Republic of Congo demographic and health survey 2013–14: Key findings
  • Association between women's empowerment and infant and child feeding practices in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of demographic and health surveys
    Na, M; Jennings, L; Talegawkar, SA; Ahmed, S
  • Making progress towards food security: Evidence from an intervention in three rural districts of Rwanda
    Nsabuwera, V; Hedt-Gauthier, B; Khogali, M; Edginton, M; Hinderaker, SG; Nisingizwe, MP; Tihabyona, JD; Sikubwabo, B; Sembagare, S; Habinshuti, A; Drobac, P
  • Care groups II: A summary of the child survival outcomes achieved using volunteer community health workers in resource-constrained settings
    Perry, H; Morrow, M; Davis, T; Borger, S; Weiss, J; DeCoster, M; Ricca, J; Ernst, P
  • Post-intervention growth of Malawian children who received 12-mo dietary complementation with a lipid-based nutrient supplement or maize-soy flour
    Phuka, JC; Maleta, K; Thakwalakwa, C; Cheung, YB; Briend, A; Manary, MJ; Ashorn, P
  • Age-based preventive targeting of food assistance and behaviour change and communication for reduction of childhood undernutrition in Haiti: A cluster randomised trial
    Ruel, MT; Menon, P; Habicht, JP; Loechl, C; Bergeron, G; Pelto, G; Arimond, M; Maluccio, J; Michaud, L; Hankebo, B
  • Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programmes: How can they help to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition?
    Ruel, MT; Alderman, H
  • Women's empowerment and domestic violence: The role of sociocultural determinants in maternal and child undernutrition in tribal and rural communities in South India
    Sethuraman, K; Lansdown, R; Sullivan, K
  • Effects of ‘women empowerment’ on household food security in rural KwaZulu-Natal province
    Sharaunga, S; Mudhara, M; Bogale, A
  • Maternal autonomy is inversely related to child stunting in Andhra Pradesh, India
    Shroff, M; Griffiths, P; Adair, L; Suchindran, C; Bentley, M
  • Women’s empowerment in agriculture: What role for food security in Bangladesh?
    Sraboni, E; Malapit, HJ; Quisumbing, AR; Ahmed, AU
  • Association between household food access insecurity and nutritional status indicators among children aged <5 years in Nepal: Results from a national, cross-sectional household survey
    Sreeramareddy, CT; Ramakrishnareddy, N; Subramaniam, M
  • Stata statistical software: Release 13
  • Development of a universally applicable household food insecurity measurement tool: Process, current status, and outstanding issues
    Swindale, A; Bilinsky, P
  • Does sending farmers back to school have an impact? Revisiting the issue
    Yamazaki, S; Resosudarmo, BP

You’re reading a free preview. Subscribe to read the entire article.

Try 2 weeks free now

DeepDyve is your
personal research library

It’s your single place to instantly
discover and read the research
that matters to you.

Enjoy affordable access to
over 18 million articles from more than
15,000 peer-reviewed journals.

All for just $49/month

Explore the DeepDyve Library

or browse the journals available

Search

Query the DeepDyve database, plus search all of PubMed and Google Scholar seamlessly

Organize

Save any article or search result from DeepDyve, PubMed, and Google Scholar... all in one place.

Access

Get unlimited, online access to over 18 million full-text articles from more than 15,000 scientific journals.

Your journals are on DeepDyve

Read from thousands of the leading scholarly journals from SpringerNature, Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford University Press and more.

All the latest content is available, no embargo periods.

See the journals in your area

DeepDyve

Freelancer

DeepDyve

Pro

Price

FREE

$49/month
$360/year

Save searches from
Google Scholar,
PubMed

Create folders to
organize your research

Export folders, citations

Read DeepDyve articles

Abstract access only

Unlimited access to over
18 million full-text articles

Print

20 pages / month

PDF Discount

20% off

Sign up
for free
Start 14 day
Free Trial