Seasonal Variation of Food Security Among the Batwa of Kanungu, Uganda
Public Health Nutrition: 20(1), 1–11 doi:10.1017/S1368980016002494 Seasonal variation of food security among the Batwa of Kanungu, Uganda Kaitlin Patterson1,*, Lea Berrang-Ford2,3, Shuaib Lwasa3,4, Didacus B Namanya3,5, James Ford2,3, Fortunate Twebaze4, Sierra Clark2, Blánaid Donnelly2 and Sherilee L Harper1,3 1Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1: 2Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada: 3Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Team†: 4Department of Geography, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda: 5Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda Submitted 1 February 2016: Final revision received 15 July 2016: Accepted 29 July 2016: First published online 13 September 2016 Abstract Objective: Climate change is projected to increase the burden of food insecurity (FI) globally, particularly among populations that depend on subsistence agriculture. The impacts of climate change will have disproportionate effects on populations with higher existing vulnerability. Indigenous people consistently experience higher levels of FI than their non-Indigenous counterparts and are more likely to be dependent upon land-based resources. The present study aimed to understand the sensitivity of the food system of an Indigenous African population, the Batwa of Kanungu District, Uganda, to seasonal variation. Design: A concurrent, mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) design was used. Six cross-sectional retrospective surveys, conducted between January 2013 and April 2014, provided quantitative data to examine the seasonal variation of self-reported household FI. This was complemented by qualitative data from focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews collected between June and August 2014. Setting: Ten rural Indigenous communities in Kanungu District, Uganda.
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