USAID OFFICE OF FOOD FOR PEACE FOOD SECURITY DESK REVIEW FOR KASAI OCCIDENTAL AND KASAI ORIENTAL, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO SEPTEMBER 2015 This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the support of the Office of Food for Peace, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, and the Office of Health, Infectious Diseases, and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Health, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), under terms of Cooperative Agreement No. No. AID-OAA- A-12-00005, through the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance III Project (FANTA), managed by FHI 360. The contents are the responsibility of FHI 360 and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Recommended citation: Murphy, Emmet; Glaeser, Laura; Maalouf-Manasseh, Zeina; and Collison, Deborah Kortso. 2015. USAID Office of Food for Peace Food Security Desk Review for Kasai Occidental and Kasai Oriental, Democratic Republic of Congo. Washington, DC: FHI 360/FANTA. Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance III Project (FANTA) FHI 360 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009-5721 T 202-884-8000 F 202-884-8432 [email protected] www.fantaproject.org ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors of the USAID Office of Food for Peace Food Security Desk Review for Kasai Occidental and Oriental, Democratic Republic of Congo wish to thank the staff of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Office of Food for Peace (FFP), USAID/DRC, and other USAID/Washington staff for their assistance in providing valuable information for the desk review, especially Marisa Traniello and Marcel Ntumba (USAID/FFP), and Shannon Rogers and Dieudonné Mbuka (USAID/DRC). The authors also wish to give special thanks to all the nongovernmental organizations, donors, and other food security stakeholders for the information and experiences that they shared that greatly enriched the desk review. In addition, the authors also thank FANTA staff Kavita Sethuraman, Sandra Remancus, Anna Lisi, and Pam Sutton for their technical input and edits to this document. CONTENTS Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................... iii Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... i Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 History .......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Politics .......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Kasai Oriental Overview .............................................................................................................. 3 1.4 Kasai Occidental Overview .......................................................................................................... 5 2. Food Security Context ........................................................................................................................ 8 2.1 Food Availability .......................................................................................................................... 8 Production Systems, Levels, and Trends ................................................................................ 8 Livestock ............................................................................................................................... 10 Fishing and Aquaculture ...................................................................................................... 11 Gender and Asset Ownership ............................................................................................... 11 2.2 Food Accessibility ...................................................................................................................... 12 Household Food Access Determinants, Trends, and Variation ........................................... 12 Diamond Mining and Other Mineral Resources .................................................................. 14 Food Prices .......................................................................................................................... 15 Market Functionality and Integration .................................................................................. 16 Gender and Income .............................................................................................................. 18 Coping Capacity and Resilience .......................................................................................... 19 2.3 Food Utilization and Health........................................................................................................ 19 Child Health and Nutritional Status .................................................................................... 19 Maternal Health and Nutritional Status .............................................................................. 23 Gender and Nutrition ........................................................................................................... 26 Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene ........................................................................................... 27 References .................................................................................................................................................. 29 Annex A. New Provinces Based on the 2006 Constitution .................................................................... 33 Annex B. Inter-Provincial Trade of Agricultural Goods in DRC......................................................... 34 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS BMI body mass index CFSVA Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis CSI Coping Strategy Index DHS Demographic and Health Survey DRC Democratic Republic of Congo FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FFP U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Food for Peace g gram(s) HIV human immunodeficiency virus INERA Institute National pour l’Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques INS Institut National de la Statistique kg kilogram(s) km kilometer(s) MCHN maternal and child health and nutrition MIBA Societe Miniere de Bakwanga MINAGRI Ministry of Agriculture mm millimeter(s) MPSMRM Ministère du Plan et Suivi de la Mise en oeuvre de la Révolution de la Modernité MSH Management Sciences for Health (nongovernmental organization) NAIP National Agricultural Investment Plan PRONADEF National Program for Livestock Development PRONANUT National Nutrition Program SCIM Société Congolaise d'lnvestissement Minier SD standard deviation SENADEP Service National pour le Développement des Peches SNSAP Early Warning Surveillance System SSADR Strategie Sectorelle de l‘Agriculture et du Développement Rural TFR total fertility rate UDPS Union pour la Democratie et le Progrès Social U.S. United States USAID U.S. Agency for International Development WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organization i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) requested that FANTA conduct a food security desk review for Kasai Occidental and Kasai Oriental provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This desk review draws from secondary resources and interviews with key informants to understand the history, politics, and food security and nutrition situation relevant to the two provinces. A better understanding of food security constraints in the Kasai provinces will help guide both FFP and potential applicants to design programs to address food security needs in the two provinces. High malnutrition and disease burden in the Kasais are a reflection of the poor health and nutrition services and infrastructure in the provinces, poor feeding and care-seeking practices, and inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure and behaviors, particularly in Kasai Occidental. A 2014 nationwide Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis by the World Food Programme (WFP) found that 62% of households in Kasai Oriental were food insecure and 16% were considered severely food insecure, ranking it the second worst in the country after war-torn South Kivu. For neighboring Kasai Occidental, 45% of households were food insecure and 12% were severely food insecure. As reported in the 2013–14 DRC Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), the prevalence of stunting in both Kasai Oriental (46%) and Kasai Occidental (52%) are higher than the national average (43%); in fact the prevalence of stunting has increased in Kasai Occidental from 48% as reported in the 2007 DHS. The total fertility rate has increased in DRC from 6.3 in 2007 to 6.6 in 2013–14; similarly the total fertility rate for Kasai Occidental increased from 7.6 to 8.2 during the same period. The extremely poor water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure and situation is a significant contributor to the high prevalence of diarrhea, other morbidities, and malnutrition. Moreover, the provinces’ health infrastructure is inadequate and unable to meet the needs of the population. Agriculture and livestock production are the most important