ActionAid International Southern Africa Partnership Programme (SAPP-Zimbabwe) A population or livelihood group is considered acutely food insecure if: ✓ People experience a large reduction in their major source of food and are unable to make up the difference through new strategies; ✓ The prevalence of malnutrition is abnormally high for the time of year, and this cannot be accounted for by either health or care factors; ✓ A large proportion of the population or group is using marginal or unsustainable coping strategies; ✓ People are using “coping” strategies that are damaging their livelihoods in the longer term, or incur some other unacceptable cost, such as acting illegally or immorally. Source: Food Security Assessments in Emergencies: A livelihoods approach. Humanitarian Practice Network: ODI. 2001 insecurity is gauged by its impact on people’s ability to feed themselves in the short term (risk to lives), and its impact on livelihoods and self-sufficiency in the longer term (risks to livelihoods). These two perspectives allow the severity of food insecurity to be judged (see Box 5). Food security17 has four pillars, namely; access, availability, utilization and affordability. Approximately, 54% of households sampled claimed that they had become food insecure as a consequence of the Operation. Being urban areas, most of the food supply to the family is sourced from the market. The survey was not a technical quantitative assessment of food security but dealt with respondents perception of their food security position. With the continued escalation in the cost of basic commodities especially food in the country with the simultaneous destruction of livelihoods, communities have increasing become food insecure. It seems Mutare’s sample was hardest hit with 79% followed by Harare with 56%. Bulawayo and Kariba had similar proportions, 47% and 46%, respectively. A minority of respondents in Victoria Falls (18%) and Beitbridge (26%) reported that their food security situation had been affected. Figure 9: Vulnerable groups food security situation Nutrition and food security complement and reinforce each Overall other. Special interest children out of school groups were analysed to establish their food M entally/physically challenged security status. The Women headed nutrient requirements of Elderly headed HIV-infected persons Child-headed differ from nonOrphans infected individuals. Chronically ill Current evidence 50% 52% 54% 56% 58% 60% 62% suggests that as the infection progresses, the nutrient requirements change. The requirements are different for the two distinct phases of HIV infection. The Food security is defined as a situation when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life (USAID, Policy Determination Number 19, 1992) 17 Zimbabwe Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order National Survey Report 22