Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Food Security and Nutrition Survey(Round 4)WFP Libya
July 2021
2
HIGHLIGHTS
With prolonged insecurity, an ongoing economic crises, and the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic, the Libyanpopulation, especially displaced households, struggle to meet their food needs. This has generated high levels ofstress amongst households and pushed them to resort to different kinds of coping strategies. Households especiallyin Alkufra reported to have greatly adopted coping strategies.
Similarly to the previous survey, round 4 shows that the labour market continues to be unstable. Many of thesurveyed households reported to be either unemployed or were working on a part-time basis.
More than 70 percent of women between the age of 15 to 49 years consumed food with Minimum Dietary Diversity.The highest proportion of households that did not achieve Minimum Dietary Diversity were from Murzuq andTobruk. Many of the women that did not attain the Minimum Dietary Diversity were from households withinadequate food consumption.
The minimum dietary diversity and the adequate number of feedings of children between 6 – 23 months of agecontinued to be as low as 12 percent in this round of the survey. It was low in all the areas covered by this study.
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Libya that began on 17 April 2021, restrictionsimplemented by the Government regarding mobility was ignificantly relaxed. However, the Libyan population has beendeeply impacted by the socio-economic ramifications caused by the pandemic, where about half of the people have losttheir source of livelihood[1].
With the ceasefire agreement signed on 23rd October 2020, the security situation in Libya began to improve and led toa reduction in the number of displaced people. Since the beginning of the year, there were reports of increasing returnsof previously displaced people. According to Round 35 of IOM-DTM’s Libya IDP and Returnee Report, over 18,000people have returned home since December 2020.
The board of the Central Bank of Libya has agreed to a devalued exchange rate across the country of 4.48 dinars to thedollar from 3rd January 2021 onwards. REACH reported a 6% increase in the price of the Minimum Expenditure Basket(MEB) in February from January due to higher cost of imported goods. Prices decreased in the subsequent monthsalthough the overall cost of the MEB is currently 12% higher than the pre-COVID-19 levels[2].
[1] COVID-19 Impact in Libya April- May 2021[2] REACH, Joint Market Monitoring Initiative, May 2020
3
WEST
South
EAST
Mantika # of interviewedHHRegion
West
East
South
Tripoli
Al Margeb
Zwara
Nalut
Tobruk
Alkufra
Murzuq
Aljufra
135
131
133
126
126
127
129
130
METHODOLOGY
Data collected for this bulletin are based on interviews conducted in eight Mantikas (municipalities) of Tripoli, Tobruk,Almargeb, Nalut, Aljufra, Murzuq, Zwara, and Alkufra between 15 March to 15 April. Some 1,037 households wereselected from these Mantikas is interviewed face-to-face.
There were challenges espcially as there was no response from some of the interviewes that were selected duringrandom sampling at the Baladiya level, therefore some of the respondents were selected based on referrals fromcommunity leaders in each Mantika.
Approximately 14 percent of the sampled households were internally displaced persons. The questionnaire used inthis round of data collection covered areas focusing on food security, labour, and two nutrition modules (the MinimumDietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) aged between 15 to 49 years and the Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) forchildren aged between 6 to 23 months). The nutrition modules assessed the nutrition uptake of women and children.
The food security module was either administered to the head of the household or an available household memberabove 18 years of age. The respondents to the MDD-W module were women living within the household agedbetween15 to 49 years. Respondents of the MAD module were caregivers of children aged between 6 to 23 months.From each households sampled for nutrition, enumerators selected only one woman for interview for the MDD_W andone child for the MAD.
There is a limitation in indicator comparisons due to the difference in the methodologies adopted here compared tothose used in the previous rounds. In the last data collection round, households were selected randomly for interviews.In contrast, due to the challenges faced in this round, some areas was supplemented with identification assistancefrom the community leaders due to high number of non-response rates (Tarhuna and Misllata).
The share of households by highest level of education remains relatively stable across all survey rounds with thehighest showing the head of households completed university level education.
Figure 2. Share of households by the highest level of education completed by the head of household
Per
cen
tage
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
University Secodary Middle Primary Koranic None0
25
50
4
Food Consumption
Overall, 8 percent of the households in Libya had inadequate (poor and borderline) food consumption in the 8 Mantikassurveyed. Tobruk(26 percent) and Murzuq (22 percent) had the highest proportion of households with inadequate foodconsumption, as seen in Figure 1.
The least consumed food groups were fruits and pulses, consumed on an average of three days in the week preceding thesurvey. Among the Municipalities surveyed, Tobruk and Murzuq reported the lowest average consumption days foranimal proteins (3 days) and dairy products (4 days).
Figure 1: Share of households with inadequate food consumption by Mantika
2%
8%
0%2%
0%
23%
15%
32%
10%
4%
10%
0%
3%1%
22%
0%
26%
8%
Round 3 Round 4
Tripoli Nalut Almergeb Zwara Aljufra Murzuq Alkufra Tobruk Total0
10
20
30
Displaced households reported a higher proportion of households with inadequate food consumption (figure 4). Inaddition, displaced households had a less dietary diversity mainly comprising of staples, vegetables and oil. The June2020 Migration Pulse reported that displaced households that lacked steady income sources were primarily employed inthe informal sector and faced with diminished or ceased income that significantly impacted their access to food. Thesechallenges were made worse by measures such as reduced mobility and closure of workplaces that were put in effect tostop the contagin of COVID-19 infections.
Figure 2: Proportion of households with inadequate food consumption (poor and borderline) by residence status
West South East
6% 5%
13%11%
3%
1%
8%
7%
Borderline Poor
Round 3 Round 4 Round 3 Round 40
10
20
Non-Displaced Displaced
Displaced households in Nalut and Murzuq had the highest proportions of households with inadequate foodconsumption rates (50 percent and 38 percent, respectively), which is most likely due to the high number of displacedpopulations residing in these areas. In addition, the insecurity and sparse population in Murzuq led to the increase in thetransportation of goods, which led to the deterioration in the living conditions and restricted access of essentialcommodities. From the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI), prices in the Southern part of Libya are generallyhigher than the national average prices.
Households headed by males had a slightly higher proportion of inadequate food consumption (8 percent) than thefemale-headed households (7 percent). Of the total sample, 10 percent of the household heads were disabled, of which14 percent had inadequate food consumption levels. People with disabilities had limited access to workforce and faceddifficulties in meeting household food needs.
The market was the primary food source for 91 percent of non-displaced and 45 percent of displaced households. Thedisplaced households obtained food through an exchange of labour (by 30 percent), while 17 percent reporteded tohaving their own production as their primary food source. Households in Alkufra (53 percent) and Murzuq (23 percent)said they faced difficulties in accessing markets in the past 30 days due to fear of the COVID-19 outbreak.
5
Around 15 percent of the households that experienced shocks in the past 30 days before the survey was conducted alsohad inadequate food consumption. Overall, households were affected by an unusually high level of COVID-19 infections(8 percent), an increase in fuel and food commodity prices (8 percent), displacement (7 percent), and temporarily orchronically ill or injured members of the household (6 percent).
About 22 percent of the households reported to having debt mainly used to buy food and pay for house rent. The debtprevalence was higher amongst displaced households (46 percent), households with more than four members (47percent), and among households headed by a person with a disability (41 percent).
Figure 3: Debt Prevalence
Due to the lack of food or money to buy food, 49 percent of households reported having adopted at least oneconsumption-based coping strategy seven days before the survey was conducted. The overall mean reduced copingstrategy index was 6.4. Displaced households, female-headed households, and households headed by a person with adisability showed higher stress levels due to the lack of food or money to purchase food.
Figure 4: Reduced Coping Strategy Index by population groups
4%4%4%
11%11%11%
17%17%17%
17%17%17%
15%15%15%
30%30%30%
40%40%40%
43%43%43%
46%46%46%
18%18%18%
19%19%19%
23%23%23%
25%25%25%
41%41%41%
19%19%19%
Tripoli
Nalut
Almergeb
Zwara
Aljufra
Murzuq
Alkufra
Tobruk
Yes
No
1 to 3
4 to 6
> 6
Yes
No
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Man
tika
sD
isp
lace
dH
H S
ize
Hea
d o
f HH
dis
able
d
Consumption-based Coping Strategies
13
5
10
6
12
5
Yes No Female Male Yes No0
5
10
Displaced HH DisabilityGender of Head of HH
6
Figure 5: Average number of days of the adoption of consumption-based coping strategies
[3] Sold Household Assets, Spent Savings, borrowed money, Worked in Exchange for food[4] Sold Productive assets, worked in exchange for food, Reduced health expenditure[5] Sold house, Engaged in Illegal work, Begged
1.2
0.4
0.8
0.9
0.5
3.1
1.3
2.4
2.6
0.9
Non Displaced Displaced
Rely on less preferred and less expensive food
Borrow food from relatives/friends
Reduced number of meals
Reduced meal size
Restricted adult consumption
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
More displaced households adopted to negative coping strategies. At the Mantika level, Alkufra reported the higheststress level due to lack of food (18.71). Households in Alkufra coped by reducing meal portion and the number mealseaten on an average of 4 days in the week before the survey.
The livelihoods-based coping strategy index is to better understand the households' longer-term coping capacity inresponse to shocks.
Results showed that 91 percent of households adopted at least one coping strategy 30 days preceding the survey.Almost half of the surveyed households adopted to stress coping strategies[3], 30 percent adopted crisis copingstrategies[4], and 13 percent adopted emergency coping strategies[5].
The adoption of livelihood-based coping strategies by households was lower in the fourth round than compared to thethird. The proportion of displaced households that adopted at least one livelihood coping strategy was higher than thatof the host communities (97 percent 89 percent respectively).
Overall, households mainly bought food on credit (42 percent), spent savings (37 percent), worked in exchange for food(25 percent), and reduced health expenditure (24 percent). In addition, around 3 percent of the households reportedhaving exhausted their savings.
Figure 6: Livelihood Coping Strategies
Livelihood Coping Strategies
50%
52%
36%
29%
31%
12%
13%
15%
14%
3%
42%
37%
25%
24%
21%
9%
8%
8%
5%
1%
Round 3 Round 4
Purchase food on credit
Spent savings
Worked in exchange for food
Reduced health expense
Borrowed money
Sold House
Sold productive assets
Sold HH assets
Illegal works
Begged
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
7
A higher proportion of displaced households adopted either crisis or emergency coping strategies than the hostcommunities (87 percent and 35 percent, respectively). Also, households headed by a person with a disability adopted tosevere coping strategies more than the able-bodied households (69 percent and 38 percent, respectively).
Figure 7: Adoption of Crisis and Emergency Coping Strategies
3%3%3%
9%9%9%
4%4%4%
15%15%15%
5%5%5%
30%30%30%
23%23%23%
13%13%13%
33%33%33%
10%10%10%
9%9%9%
34%34%34%
10%10%10%
29%29%29%
9%9%9%
9%9%9%
38%38%38%
23%23%23%
9%9%9%
52%52%52%
69%69%69%
29%29%29%
56%56%56%
26%26%26%
26%26%26%
53%53%53%
28%28%28%
40%40%40%
Emergency coping strategies Crisis coping strategies
Tripoli
Nalut
Almergeb
Zwara
Aljufra
Murzuq
Alkufra
Tobruk
Yes
No
Non-Displaced
Displaced
Not disabled
Disabled
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Man
tika
sR
ecei
vin
gA
ssis
tan
ce
Res
iden
tSt
atu
sD
isab
ility
At the Mantika level, the highest proportion of households that adopted either to crisis or emergency coping strategieswere from Alkufra (92 percent) and Murzuq (82 percent).
Figure 8: Crisis and Emergency coping strategies by household status
19%21%
6%
0%4% 5%
57%
52%
21%
1%
8%
29%
Reduced HealthExpense
Worked in exchange forfood
Sold productive assets Begged Engaged in illegal work Sold House0
25
50
Crisis Emergency
8
Figure 9: Summary of key welfare indicators in each round of data collection
Per
cen
tage
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
No access tosubsidized food
Poor access toelectricity
Poor access to water Displaced Greater than 3deprivations
No bank account0
25
50
75
It is not easy to compare across rounds due to the significant differences in survey methodology, and the largedifferences in the sample in the fourth round in particular. However, regardless of the comparison over time, asubstantial share of households still experienced deprivations in the fourth round. For example, most householdsreport that no open government shops sell subsidised food in their neighbourhoods. In addition, many households hadpower cuts for at least one day in the past month, and approximately 30 percent of households reported having theirwater supply interrupted for at least one day the past month.
Furthermore, the degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be affecting day-to-day life continues to be lessthan at the beginning of the pandemic. Similarly, only 2 percent of households reported having trouble accessing foodmarkets due to COVID-19, similar to the findings in the last round in December 2020. Furthermore, the share ofhouseholds that always practiced social distancing continued to be much lower than was reported at the beginning ofthe pandemic.
The fourth round shows a sharp drop in the proportion of respondents unable to access their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the previous rounds. Although it is difficult to attribute all the changes observed here to theimpact of the pandemic due to the significant changes in the sample, the results suggest that the pandemic iscontinuing to have a more negligible effect on the day-to-day life of households compared to the beginning of thepandemic.
Impact of COVID-19
Figure 10: Share of households reporting difficulty in reaching jobs and having access to key services due to COVID-19
Per
cen
tage
39%
62%
52%
18%
26%
47%
17%
22%
31%
Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
No market access Always social distancing Connot reach jobs0
25
50
9
Figure 11a: Employment status of the head of household (full sample)
Per
cen
tage
Work in past 7 days Have job but temporarilyabsent last 7 days
No job Worked 35 hours or more Searching for a job0
20
40
The fourth round of the survey also included the same labour module as in the third round. Although the samplediffered significantly between the third and fourth rounds, the country's labour market situation continued to lookbleak. Figure 13 demonstrates that a substantial share of respondents did not work at all, and of all those that did, theirjobs were mostly not full-time employment.
Approximately 55 percent of respondents had worked in the previous seven days. Alternatively, 20 percent ofrespondents reported temporary absences from work from a week earlier, and 30 percent of respondents reported tobeing unemployed. In addition, from the high share of respondents that did not work in the past week, only 20 percentof respondents worked the equivalent of a full-time job (35 hours or more). This further demonstrates the poor labourmarket conditions, where approximately 45 percent of respondents were currently looking for new jobs.Despite, the relatively slightly lower proportion of households with inadequate food consumption compared to the lastround, and the smooth access to several essential services, the labour market situation for household heads iscurrently precarious.
However, it is essential to note that the degree to which the job market is poor is likely due to COVID-19. Figure 12reported that 30 percent of households had at least one member unable to reach their jobs. Furthermore, the currentlabour module only reached the respondent, who was the household head in most cases. Thus, these figures do notcapture the other working members of the household.
Labour Market
Figure 11b: Employment status of the head of household (Men, 15 to 65 years old)
Per
cen
tage
Work in past 7 days Have job but temporarilyabsent last 7 days
No job Worked 35 hours or more Searching for a job0
25
50
10
Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women
According to the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women of reproductive age (MDD-W), women between 15-49 yearswho have consumed at least five of the ten possible food groups over a 24-hour recall period are classified as havingminimally adequate diet diversity.
The MDD-W indicator is a food group diversity indicator selected to reflect one essential dimension of diet quality.More than 70 percent of the women in the age range from 15-49 years old achieved the minimum acceptable diet. Thehighest share of women that did not reach a minimum adequate diet was from Murzuq (43 percent) and Tobruq (58percent).
Figure 12: Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women by Mantika and residence status
Nutrition
75%75%75%
74%74%74%
83%83%83%
85%85%85%
82%82%82%
43%43%43%
94%94%94%
58%58%58%
77%77%77%
44%44%44%
Tripoli
Nalut
Almergeb
Zwara
Aljufra
Murzuq
Alkufra
Tobruk
Non-Displaced
Displaced
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Man
tika
sR
esid
ent
Stat
us
The women aged betwen 15 to 49 years from displaced households were less likely to achieve the minimum acceptablediet than compared to women in host communities due to reduced access to food caused by a loss of livelihoods andlow income.
Overall, staples, dairy, and eggs were the most consumed food groups. Green vegetables and fruits were the leastconsumed among the food groups by the women living in displaced households. Almost two-thirds of women in thesurveyed households consumed 6 to 7 different food groups the day before the survey.
Figure 13: Number of food groups consumed by women
83%83%83%
74%74%74%
74%74%74%
71%71%71%
67%67%67%
63%63%63%
57%57%57%
52%52%52%
52%52%52%
42%42%42%
Dairy
Protein
Staples
Eggs
Other veg
Other fruits
Leafy green veg
Vitamin A
Pulses
Nuts and Seeds
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
11
Many women who lived in households that relied on food assistance as their primary food source did not attain theminimum dietary diversity, followed by households that depended on gifts from family and friends. Some 75 percent ofwomen who did not meet minimum dietary diversity were from households that had inadequate food consumptionlevels.
Figure 14: Factors affecting Minimum Dietary Diversity
21%
49% 47%
78%
67%
36%
No debt Has debt Exchange labourfor food
Food assistance Gifts Own production0
25
50
75
Main Food source
Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD)
The Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) is a summary indicator for infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices amongchildren aged 6 to 23 months. The first two years of a child’s life are crucial, as optimal nutrition during this periodlowers morbidity and mortality, reduces the risk of chronic disease, and fosters better development overall. A child isclassified as consuming the MAD if s/he meets both:
the minimum dietary diversity - a child, should have eaten from more than four food groups out of seven the previous day and night; and the minimum meal frequency of
- two feedings for breastfed children aged 6 to 8 months - three feedings for breastfed children aged 9 to 23 months - four feedings for non-breastfed children aged 6 to 23 months
Overall, only 12 percent of the children consumed a minimum acceptable diet. This proportion is far below thecorporate threshold of 70 percent. Tobruk and Tripoli reported the lowest proportion of children that achieved theminimum acceptable diet.
Figure 15: Minimum Acceptable Diet by Mantika
Per
cen
tage
6%
11%
24%
32%
12%
22%
30%
6%
Tripoli Nalut Almergeb Zwara Aljufra Murzuq Alkufra Tobruk0
10
20
30
70%
12
From the below graph, majority of the children did not consume the adequate number of meals required for this agegroup, especially children below 18 months of age. Also, only half of the children below 11 months met the adequateminimum dietary diversity. The children mostly consumed milk and staples.
Figure 16: Minimum Diet Diversity and Minimum Meal Frequency by Age category
50%
65%
74%
60%
11%17%
38%
17%
Meets min diet diversity Meets min meal frequency
6-11 months 12-17 months 18-23 months Total, 6 - 23 months0
25
50
75
Per
cen
tage
6%11%
35%
47%
21%24%
36%
17%
66%
56%
65%68%
71%
57% 58%53%
Meets min diet diversity Meets min meal frequency
Tripoli Nalut Almergeb Zwara Aljufra Murzuq Alkufra Tobruk0
25
50
From the graph below, the diversity in the childrens' diet was low in all areas surveyed and lowest being in Tripoli. Thelow diversity implies that children were fed meals from the same group throughout the day, which signifies a poorquality diet. This practice could have adverse effects on childrens' health by making them prone to malnutrition anddiseases.
Figure 17: Minimum Meal Frequency and Minimum Diet Diversity by Mantika
The proportion of households with inadequate food consumption reduced from 10 percent to 8 percent in the fourthround, with Tobruk and Murzuq having the highest proportion of households with inadequate food consumptionamong the areas surveyed. However, displaced households are still a vulnerable group among the Libyans. Adoption tocoping strategies though having reduced in round 4, is still high, with tremendous adoption reported in Alkufra. Thishigh-level adoption of coping strategies could be due to low or reduced incomes due to the poor job market among theLibyans, where a third of the households reported to be unemployed and 20 percent reporting temporary absences.
Children aged 6 to 23 months were mainly fed meals from the same food group throughout the day and did notconsume an adequate number of meals a practice, which could be a potential cause of malnutrition and diseases.
Conclusion
13
Strengthen livelihood interventions especially for food-insecure households whose livelihoods have been affectedby the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict, with a view of meeting their households’ consumption gaps whilestrengthening their livelihoods by building their human, social and financial capital;
Conduct regular monitoring of markets, food security and the nutrition situation to continually assess the impact ofconflict and COVID-19 related measures in order to inform programs implemented by WFP and other partners;
Strengthen early childhood development through improved capacity of caregivers and infrastructure at communitycentres as well as by creating greater awareness at community level about the benefits of nurturing care forchildren during the first 1,000 days of life;
Continue working with UNICEF to support joint activities, including nutritional surveys in order to generateinformation required to strengthen nutrition programmes to specifically address poor feeding habits.
Recommendations
Rawad Halabi Country Director, WFP Libya [email protected]
Ariuntuya Tsend-AyushHead of Analysis, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, WFP [email protected]
For further information, please contact
Grace Namugayi Food Security Analyst, WFP Libya [email protected]
Eliana Favarioic Regional VAM advisor, [email protected]
