“I started working because I was hungry”: the consequences of food insecurity for children’s well-being in rural Ethiopia

Abstract

Food insecurity, the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of safe, nutritious food, is a persistent problem in rural Ethiopia. However, little qualitative research has explored how food insecurity affects children over time, from their point of view. What are the effects of economic ‘shocks’ such as illness, death, loss of livestock, drought and inflation on availability of food, and children’s well-being? To what extent do social protection schemes (in this case, the Productive Safety Net Programme) mitigate the long-term effects of food insecurity for children? This paper uses a life-course approach, drawing on analysis of 4 rounds of qualitative longitudinal research conducted in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2014, with 8 case study children, as part of Young Lives, an ongoing cohort study. Young Lives is an international study of childhood poverty, following the lives of 12,000 children in 4 countries (Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam) over 15 years. Young Lives is funded by the UK Department for International Development