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Gender and Food Security in Emergencies

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Gender and Food Security in Emergencies Have you read section A? GENDER AND FOOD SECURITY IN EMERGENCIES n the aftermath of disasters, affected communities food supplies, but food-insecure households or areas will need help to restart agricultural activities as soon may exist due to production/supply shortages, low in- I as possible, in order to meet household food securi- come levels and general lack of access to those supplies. ty needs adequately and restore resilience. Since emer- Internationally, food production levels are more than suf- gencies tend to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, the ficient to feed all people, but food is not equally available respective roles and responsibilities of women and men or accessible. Improving food security means ensuring and their constraints, needs and capacities need to be households have the means to produce sufficient food analysed and understood in order to ensure that effective of acceptable quality for their own consumption — or assistance is provided. Ultimately, the objective is to as- earn enough regular income to purchase it and access sist in a quicker and more sustainable recovery, especially the market, while ensuring all members of the household for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. have sufficient access. Whether in terms of labour input, decision-making, access Household food security does not necessarily mean the to or control of production resources, gender issues should same as food self-sufficiency, which refers to sufficient be mainstreamed in food security, looking at the four di- domestic production to meet the needs of the popula- mensions mentioned earlier: availability, access, utiliza- tion. It refers both to the availability and stability of food, tion and stability. Gender aspects are relevant to most of and the purchasing power of the household where food FOOD SECURITY these issues since women and men are generally affected is not produced. Food security also depends on food ad- differently by the emergency and displacement and have equacy and acceptability to consumers, as well as the different access to and control over finances and resources. availability of clean water and firewood. The collection of Women are active in cash and subsistence agricultural sec- water and firewood is often the task of women and girls, tors and their work in producing food for household and and may be compromised in emergency settings, affect- community consumption is often not valued. ing ability to transform rations and food into an adequate diet. Food processing, conservation and storage are also Many failures in food security programmes and policies important considerations when planning food security are due to the assumption that large groups of people interventions. are homogeneous, rather than being composed of socio- economic groups with different needs and interests. Food security is an issue for individuals within house- Goals and objectives cannot be achieved without a clear holds, for households as a whole, for nations and for the understanding of the target group. Knowing who does international community. At the household level, indi- what work and carries out what roles in providing for vidual members may be malnourished while others have household food security is essential in policy planning. sufficient food. In some societies, women and/or children If women are responsible for a particular aspect of food are the victims of food discrimination. You should assess policy they need to be specifically targeted, rather women’s and men’s access to food and the difference in than assuming that they will automatically be reached calorie intake according to gender within the affected — the same is true for men. Women and men should population. At the national level, there may be sufficient not be treated as all the same and a specific socio- GENDER AND FOOD SECURITY IN EMERGENCIES 1 IASC GENDER HANDBOOK economic group may be the target of special policies and • Are the specific needs of women, children, men and programmes. You should consider the effects of food aid, disabled recognized? subsidies and rehabilitation programmes on women, as the • Is the local knowledge of women and men recognized principal providers of food for the household, as opposed and used in planning food security interventions? to looking at households as units. There may be no man associated with the household and even where there is • What is the local level of organization of women, one, it may still be considered women’s responsibility to youth, men and disabled in the rural communities? Can provide for food by whatever means possible. You need informal networks or formal associations be supported good knowledge of food security-related socio-economic and how? issues and an understanding of how women and men make their choices and interact. • Is there any community support to women and men for food production, transport and delivery? FOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENT IN THE WEST BANK • What are the community and household power struc- AND GAZA STRIP tures in relation to the use of food, land and other pro- In 2003, FAO and WFP undertook a comprehensive food security ductive resources? and nutrition assessment across all districts of the West Bank • How acceptable to the population are the proposed and Gaza Strip. A key objective was to understand the factors commodities, according to gender-disaggregated and conditions affecting livelihoods and food security and needs? nutritional vulnerability of women, girls, boys and men. In addition to reviewing secondary data, the mission conducted a • Who controls resources (production tools, food, etc.) at primary data collection and analysis exercise in urban, camp and both the community and household level? remote rural locations. This involved extensive field visits, focus group discussions, pairwise comparison ranking, household • Who in the household is responsible for food safety observations, and interviews using a gender focus. and the hygiene considerations for ensuring food and nutrition security? • Who in the household is responsible for processing, WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW TO conservation and storage of food? PLAN AND IMPLEMENT GENDER- What are the economic factors and how have they RESPONSIVE FOOD SECURITY changed since the crisis? PROGRAMMES IN EMERGENCIES? • What is the level of poverty of women, girls, boys and men? FOOD SECURITY What are the demographic factors? • Do women and men have equal access to the local • Number of landless poor (disaggregated by sex). market? • Number of herdless pastoralists (by sex). • What is the process for local food procurement for • Number of poorest in caste groups (by sex). women and men? • Most marginalized communities (composition and size). • Do both women and men have access to cash and • Number of temporary and long-term or permanent food-for-work opportunities, credit and agricultural in- migrants. puts? • Disaggregated data by age, wealth and marriage status. • Is cash available for women and men to meet non-food What are the social factors and how have they needs? changed since the crisis? • What are the different types of households after the • Do both women and men have access to food aid ser- crisis (e.g. female- or child-headed households)? vices and programmes? • What is the composition of households needing spe- • What are their levels of self-sufficiency in particular cial assistance (e.g. unaccompanied children, widows crops? without families, disabled and women, girls, boys and • Are there adequate and stable food supplies and access men affected by HIV/AIDS)? (quantity, quality and nutritional aspects) for women • Has there been recognition of the roles of women and men? and men in caring for their extended families and dependents? GENDER AND FOOD SECURITY IN EMERGENCIES 2 IASC GENDER HANDBOOK What are the political factors and how have they Gender-sensitive needs assessment changed as a result of the crisis? • Assess the priority needs and constraints of women • Is any group being discriminated against? and men to increase household food security in the short and long term. • Are national and/or customary practices and laws limit- ing women’s access to land and other productive assets? • Gather the perceptions of the target population to provide a basis for decision-makers in the design, tar- • Do both women and men have access to agricultural geting and implementation of policies, strategies and services? interventions to protect and promote food security. • Do national legislation and laws ensure equal rights • Assess if any problem resulted from the division of (e.g. to land) to women and men? labour or from the inequitable access to resources by • What are the consultation procedures in policy formu- women and men. lation and implementation processes? Vulnerability maps • Do mechanisms exist for involving women and most • Identify areas and sectors of population (women, girls, vulnerable groups in decision- and policy-making? boys and men) most at risk of food insecurity. • Do subsidies on products exist and what are their ef- • Identify types and levels of hazards based on past, fects on production of food crops and incomes of poor present and projected trends to assess the needs of women and men? the areas and groups of people (disaggregated by sex) most at risk. What are the institutional and security factors and how have they changed since the crisis? • Formulate supplementary feeding programmes for at- • Have institutional arrangements and mechanisms been risk sections of the population, with the active partici- developed to ensure that the views and concerns of pation of women, girls, boys and men. women and vulnerable groups at village, regional and national levels are brought to the attention of policy- Gender-disaggregated data and gender-sensitive makers? indicators • Disaggregate by sex existing data on different socio- • What are the information dissemination and com- economic groups in food-insecure communities. munication channels, and are special measures taken to ensure the access by women and most vulnerable • Conduct surveys and rapid appraisals to collect direct groups? information from women and men, with adequate rep- resentation of different socio-economic groups.
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