Session 3

1. Session 3 Identifying Those Most at Risk of Food Insecurity During a Pandemic

2. Purpose of this session: • To become familiar with methods used to gather information that will help to assess who in a community: • is currently most affected by poverty and hunger • will suffer the most in terms of meeting household food needs during a pandemic.

3. Let’s review Food Security • availability - food is physically present. • access - individuals have the resources to obtain available food • utilization - people’s bodies are able to make the best use of the nutrients in the food they eat

4. What is Livelihood Security ? • Livelihood securityrefers to the ability to continuously maintain or enhance a healthy and secure life. • Livelihood Systems include • Skills and abilities • Assets (both material and social resources) • Activities, decisions. people make

5. What is a Food and Livelihood Security Assessment (FSLA) ? • A FSLA identifies the poorest populations and those which will be at greatest risk in a disaster.

6. Purpose of a FLSA Decisions to protect food and livelihood security must be based on an understanding of the following: • The things that help people to survive each day—skills, abilities, material and social assets, activities, decisions made. • The impact of the pandemic on current and future food and livelihood security. • The groups that are most at risk of suffering from the impact

7. Conditions of groups typically at risk in all emergencies • Limited or irregular income • No emergency reserves of money or food • Poor health • Stigma • Isolation • Homeless or internally displaced • Elderly • Little or no transportation • Orphans and vulnerable children

8. Additional conditions which place groups at risk during a pandemic • Reliance on markets for the majority of food purchases • No knowledge about how to prepare for a pandemic • Employed in work sector that may be severely impacted (tourism, restaurants, taxi drivers, etc.) • Reliance on public transportation for work • Must migrate for income • Must care for dependents

9. How do we conduct a local FLSA ? Assemble a team to gather information using a variety of methods: • Community interviews • Key Informant interviews • Focus group discussions • Transect walks • Seasonal calendars

10. What will be different about collecting information during a pandemic? If social distancing measures are in place: • Community interviews are not appropriate • Focus group discussion should be smaller (5-6 people) • Household interviews may be the best option • Seasonal calendars can be used to organize info, but people should not be gathered to create a calendar

11. Who can help conduct the FLSA ? • Traders, health-care workers, school teachers, community workers, and agriculture technicians • Good listening skills • Comfortable interviewing people • Ability to reflect and summarize • Open attitude • Good interpersonal skills • Ability to adapt on the spot

12. What types of information should be collected? Ask specific questions about: • How people are making a living • How people are meeting their food needs • Who is currently most affected by poverty and hunger • Who may suffer most in the ability to provide food for their household during a pandemic

13. Making sense of collected information • Organize the collected information into patterns and categories using matrices, tables, etc... • Sort the population into livelihood groups

14. Making sense of collected information • Identify how the various livelihood groups access food and income. • What skills and assets does each group have that help them to survive each day? • Determine who might need assistance.

15. Making sense of collected information • Determine why each group may need assistance. • Could people protect themselves if they were provided with information and/or resources before the pandemic virus arrives?

16. Making sense of collected information Small Group Work • Turn to page 9 in the tool. • Looking at the sample chart, try to predict potential food and livelihood security problems that might surface for each group. • Who will be at-risk and why? • What are the strengths of each group? • What are the challenges ?

17. Choosing the most appropriate type of assistance A wide range of actions can support and protect food and livelihood security during a pandemic, including: • Widespread public awareness campaigns • Supporting/increasing the methods in which HH produce or process food. • Protecting access to market goods and services

18. Assessment Updates After the first wave of a pandemic passes, get better prepared for possible 2nd and 3rd waves Determine: • How the pandemic has affected people’s food and livelihood security • Who has suffered most • Who has been more resilient

19. Assessment Updates Update FLS information to determine how the pandemic has affected : • the different sources of food and income for each of the livelihood groups identified. •  the amount of food that households eat. •  the usual seasonal patterns of food security for the different groups. •  access to markets and prices of essential goods.

20. Considerations • Is the collection of new information essential for decision-making? • Are other groups (governments, international organizations, NGOs, community groups, and so on) collecting similar information?

21. Thank You