TY - JOUR
T1 - Social Determinants of Rural Household Food Insecurity under the Taliban Regime
AU - Najam, Wasiuddin
AU - Ibiyemi, Temitope
AU - Aziz, Sajia
AU - Najam, Rafiuddin
AU - Gichohi-Wainaina, Wanjiku N.
AU - Oldewage-Theron, Wilna
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - Despite the severity of food insecurity in Afghanistan, little is known about the factors contributing to household food insecurity (HFI) under the Taliban regime. Therefore, this paper investigated the social determinants of severe HFI in rural areas of Afghanistan. We used the fifth-round survey of 6019 rural households from 25 provinces, collected between July and August 2022 by the Food and Agriculture Organization. We used binary logistic regression to examine the association between household characteristics and HFI. The majority of household heads were male (97.8%) with no education (62.8%). The findings showed that female-headed households had significantly higher odds of severe HFI. Household heads with any level of formal education had significantly reduced odds of severe HFI, while the odds of severe HFI was not different among those with religious/informal household-head education compared to those with no education. Likewise, engagement in any type of agricultural activity decreased the odds of severe HFI. Additionally, household income per member was negatively, while household size was positively associated with severe HFI. In summary, interventions to alleviate HFI among rural households should prioritize income-generating opportunities and skills targeting households with female heads, low levels of household-head education, larger size, no agricultural activities, and low income.
AB - Despite the severity of food insecurity in Afghanistan, little is known about the factors contributing to household food insecurity (HFI) under the Taliban regime. Therefore, this paper investigated the social determinants of severe HFI in rural areas of Afghanistan. We used the fifth-round survey of 6019 rural households from 25 provinces, collected between July and August 2022 by the Food and Agriculture Organization. We used binary logistic regression to examine the association between household characteristics and HFI. The majority of household heads were male (97.8%) with no education (62.8%). The findings showed that female-headed households had significantly higher odds of severe HFI. Household heads with any level of formal education had significantly reduced odds of severe HFI, while the odds of severe HFI was not different among those with religious/informal household-head education compared to those with no education. Likewise, engagement in any type of agricultural activity decreased the odds of severe HFI. Additionally, household income per member was negatively, while household size was positively associated with severe HFI. In summary, interventions to alleviate HFI among rural households should prioritize income-generating opportunities and skills targeting households with female heads, low levels of household-head education, larger size, no agricultural activities, and low income.
KW - Afghanistan
KW - Taliban
KW - food insecurity
KW - rural households
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152323157&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/nu15071681
DO - 10.3390/nu15071681
M3 - Article
C2 - 37049521
AN - SCOPUS:85152323157
SN - 2072-6643
VL - 15
JO - Nutrients
JF - Nutrients
IS - 7
M1 - 1681
ER -