Household Food And Nutrition Security Among Women In Peri- Urban Areas: A Case Of Mathare Informal Settlement In Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Food and Nutrition insecurity remains a challenge in Kenya today. The situation in the urban slums is becoming serious and requires urgent action to cub its progress. Factors that can currently be associated with household food and nutrition security are, however, not clearly defined and hence limited knowledge to design home grown solutions especially among those living in urban informal settlements. The study aimed at assessing factors that contribute to household food and nutrition security among women of reproductive age in Mathare informal settlement in Nairobi County, Kenya. A cross-sectional study was carried out between July and August, 2019 in 243 households across five villages in Mathare Informal Settlement. Data was collected using a semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire. The average household size of the study population was 4.4±2.0. The highest proportion of respondents were married (64.2%) and over half had attained primary education (59.5%). The average household dietary diversity score (HDDS) was 6.2±1.6. The mean dietary diversity score for women (MDD-W) was 4.55±1.62 with 51% of the women consuming less than five out of ten food groups. The most consumed food group was cereals (98.8%) while the least consumed was Vitamin A rich fruits and vegetables (12.3%). There were positive associations between respondent’s age (p=0.026), occupation (p=0.046), level of education (p=0.041), monthly income (p=0.003) and their dietary diversity scores. The mean score for nutritional knowledge obtained by the women was 57%. Majority (51.9%) of the respondents had moderate nutritional knowledge. There was a statistically significant difference between nutritional knowledge and level of education (p=0.000). xiv Food insecurity scores indicated that only 10.9% of the households were food secure, 37.1% were mild to moderately food insecure while 60.3% were severely food insecure. A significant difference (p=0.000) was obtained between food insecurity and the different 5 villages as well as a positive correlation with the age of the respondent (r= 0.129, p= 0.045). Other factors found to be associated with food insecurity were income, level of education, occupation, and household size. Use of negative coping strategies such as reducing meal portion size, reducing the quality of food, trading sex for food, and eating cheap and unhealthy street foods were found to be adopted by households. The prevalence of normal weight, obesity, and overweight was 48.6%, 29.6%, and 19.8% respectively. There was a positive (r=0.263, p=0.000) significant correlation between age and nutritional status of the respondents as the situation got worse as one ages. Households in Mathare informal settlement suffer food insecurity, the situation is exacerbated by lack of income indicated by use of sub-optimal coping mechanisms. Policies and programs tailored towards food security need to be put in place and efficient ways of ensuring that food items and subsidies are distributed among the most affected implemented by the government.