Singh Devendra Raj, Sunuwar Dev Ram, Shah Sunil Kumar, Sah Lalita Kumari, Karki Kshitij, Sah Rajeeb Kumar
Department of Public Health, Asian College for Advance Studies, Purbanchal University, Lalitpur, Nepal.
Research and Innovation Section, Southeast Asia Development Actions Network (SADAN), Lalitpur, Nepal.
PLoS One. 2021 Jul 21;16(7):e0254954. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254954. eCollection 2021.
Food insecurity is a serious social and public health problem which is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic especially in resource-poor countries such as Nepal. However, there is a paucity of evidence at local levels. This study aims to explore food insecurity among people from the disadvantaged community and low-income families during the COVID-19 pandemic in Province-2 of Nepal.
The semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted virtually among purposively selected participants (n = 41) from both urban and rural areas in eight districts of Province 2 in Nepal. All the interviews were conducted in the local language between July and August 2020. The data analysis was performed using thematic network analysis in Nvivo 12 Pro software.
The results of this study are grouped into four global themes: i) Impact of COVID-19 on food security; ii) Food insecurity and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, iii) Food relief and emergency support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and iv) Impact of COVID-19 and food insecurity on health and wellbeing. Most participants in the study expressed that families from low socioeconomic backgrounds and disadvantaged communities such as those working on daily wages and who rely on remittance had experienced increased food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants used different forms of coping strategies to meet their food requirements during the pandemic. Community members experienced favouritism, nepotism, and partiality from local politicians and authorities during the distribution of food relief. The food insecurity among low-income and disadvantaged families has affected their health and wellbeing making them increasingly vulnerable to the COVID-19 infection.
Food insecurity among low-income and disadvantaged families was found to be a serious problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study suggests that the relief support plan and policies should be focused on the implementation of immediate sustainable food security strategies to prevent hunger, malnutrition, and mental health problems among the most vulnerable groups in the community.
粮食不安全是一个严重的社会和公共卫生问题，新冠疫情使其进一步恶化，在尼泊尔等资源匮乏国家尤为如此。然而，地方层面的相关证据匮乏。本研究旨在探讨尼泊尔第二省在新冠疫情期间弱势社区和低收入家庭人群中的粮食不安全情况。
对尼泊尔第二省八个区城乡两地有目的地选取的参与者（n = 41）进行了虚拟半结构化定性访谈。所有访谈于2020年7月至8月以当地语言进行。使用Nvivo 12 Pro软件中的主题网络分析进行数据分析。
本研究结果分为四个总体主题：i）新冠疫情对粮食安全的影响；ii）新冠疫情期间的粮食不安全及应对策略；iii）新冠疫情期间的粮食救济和紧急支持；iv）新冠疫情和粮食不安全对健康与福祉的影响。研究中的大多数参与者表示，社会经济背景较低的家庭以及弱势社区，如日薪劳动者家庭和依赖汇款的家庭，在新冠疫情期间粮食不安全状况加剧。参与者在疫情期间采用了不同形式的应对策略来满足其食物需求。在粮食救济分发过程中，社区成员遭遇了当地政客和当局的偏袒、裙带关系和不公对待。低收入和弱势家庭的粮食不安全影响了他们的健康和福祉，使他们更容易感染新冠病毒。
研究发现，在新冠疫情期间，低收入和弱势家庭的粮食不安全是一个严重问题。该研究表明，救济支持计划和政策应侧重于实施即时可持续的粮食安全战略，以防止社区中最弱势群体出现饥饿、营养不良和心理健康问题。
