Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Vulnerability in crisis: urban household food insecurity in Epworth, Harare, Zimbabwe

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Food Security Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Much of the contemporary literature on food security has focused on the rural sector. However, within the current context of high demographic growth, rapid urbanization and rising urban poverty which characterizes much of Sub-Saharan Africa, urban food insecurity cannot continue to be ignored. This study therefore examines the vulnerability of poor households to food insecurity in the challenging urban environment of Harare in Zimbabwe, an acute example of a city (and country) ‘in crisis’. Findings from qualitative and quantitative research demonstrate severe food insecurity characterized by critical food shortages and the consumption of narrower diets among poor households in the city. Household vulnerability to food insecurity stemmed from a range of factors, including: high levels of unemployment and poverty; high dependency ratios; low levels of house ownership; hyperinflation; skyrocketing food prices; and the general collapse of the formal food system. Vulnerability to food insecurity was further exacerbated by a prolonged adverse socio-political climate that undermined national economic recovery and reduced the livelihood opportunities available to the urban poor. The paper concludes that in Harare, as in most urban areas of the developing world, the urban poor have become highly vulnerable to food insecurity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. See Rakodi (1995a) for a detailed discussion on the limitations of using poverty lines to measure urban poverty.

  2. These are internationally accepted food security measures designed by the USAID’s Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) project and have been used extensively in food security surveys internationally (see, Swindale and Bilinsky (2006).

  3. The HFIASS reflects the household experience of food access problems during the previous month. It is derived from a 9 item questionnaire where a respondent answers on behalf of all household members. For each question, the respondent has 4 possible responses depending on the frequency of occurrence of the experience described. The level of food insecurity is established based on a score (the sum of responses), followed by a classification of severity of food insecurity. The scores range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 27. The higher the score, the more food insecure the household is.

  4. For ease of analysis, the first two categories (food secure and mildly food insecure) were later collated into one to make up the food secure category while the last two (moderately food insecure and severely food insecure) were combined to form the food insecure category.

  5. Chambers (1989:20) distinguishes between an external and an internal side of vulnerability. The external side relates to risks and shocks which are beyond individual/household control, but to which individuals or households are exposed (e.g. globalization, political and economic marginalization, declining terms of trade, weakening social networks). The internal side, on the other hand, is concerned with the specific characteristics of a person/household that exacerbate their susceptibility to shocks and stresses and affect their ability to cope (e.g. education levels of household members, unemployment and poverty).

  6. The Lived Poverty Index (LPI) scores range from 0.00 (complete satisfaction of basic needs) to 4.00 (frequent shortages of basic needs). The LPI is a good indicator of household poverty, as it measures how frequently people go without necessities such as food, clean water, medicine, enough fuel to cook food and an income (Mattes 2008; Afrobarometer 2003).

  7. Case Study No. 6, 24 March 2009, Ward II, Epworth, Harare.

  8. Rent averaged R115 per household (Research Survey, 2009).

  9. Case Study No. 25, 27 March 2009, Ward VII, Epworth, Harare.

  10. Usually single women, widows and separated/divorced/abandoned and without a partner or spouse.

  11. Case Study No. 19, 26 March 2009, Ward VI, Epworth, Harare.

References

  • Aboussaleh, Y., Ahami, A. (2009). Dietary determinants of stunting and anaemia among pre-adolescents in Morocco, Africa Journal of Food Agriculture Nutrition and Development, 9(2), 728–747.

    Google Scholar 

  • Afrobarometer, (2003). Poverty, Poverty Measurement and Democracy in Southern Africa, Afrobarometer Briefing Paper Number 4, http://ww.afrobarometer.org/papers/AfrobriefNo4.pdf (Accessed 06/10/09).

  • Beall, J., Kanji, N. (1999). Households, Livelihoods and Urban Poverty, Background Paper For The ESCOR Commissioned Research On Urban Governance and Poverty, http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu-projects/drivers_urb_change_society/pdf (accessed 18-06-2011)

  • Benson, T. (2007). Study of Household Food Security in Urban Slum Areas of Bangladesh, Final Report for World Food Programme, International Food Policy Research Institute, Food Consumption and Nutrition Division, IFPRI, Washington

  • Brown, A. (2000). Cities for the Urban Poor in Zimbabwe: Urban Space as a Resource for Sustainable Development, UK Government Department for International Development (DFID).

  • Bryceson, D. F. (2006). Fragile cities: fundamentals of urban life in east and southern Africa. In D. F. Bryceson & D. Potts (Eds.), African urban economics: viability, vitality or vitiation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butcher, C. (1988). Epworth: A review of the densification policy. Report Prepared for the Epworth Local Board

  • Chambers, R. (1989). Vulnerability, coping and policy. Institute for Development Studies Bulletin, 20(2), 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, R., Conway, G. (1992). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century, University of Sussex, Institute for Development Studies, DP296, Brighton.

  • Chimhowu, A. (2009). Moving forward in Zimbabwe: Reducing poverty and promoting productivity. Manchester: Brooks Poverty Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chisvo, M. (2000). Reaping the whirlwind: Economic liberalization and food security in Zimbabwe, Harare.

  • Clemens, M., Moss, T. (2005). Costs and causes of Zimbabwe’s crisis, Centre for Global Development, Washington, www.sgdev.org (accessed 01/09/2009).

  • Coates, J., Swindale, A., Bilinsky, P. (2007). Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) For Measurement of Food Access: Indicator Guide Volume 3, Food and Technical Assistance Project (FANTA), Academy for Educational Development, Washington D.C.

  • Commission for Africa. (2005). Our Common Interest, Report of the Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa.

  • Crush, J., & Frayne, B. (Eds.). (2010). The state of urban food insecurity in Southern Africa, urban food security series number 2, African food security urban network. Cape Town: Unity press.

    Google Scholar 

  • CSO, (1982). Census National Report, Harare.

  • CSO, (2009). Population Estimates 2009, Harare.

  • Curtin, T. R. C. (1968). Rhodesian economic development under sanctions and the ‘Long Haul’. J Afr Aff, 67(267), 100–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • De la Rocha, M., Grinspun, A. (2001). Private Adjustments: Household Responses to the Erosion of Work, UNDP/SEPED Conference Paper Series, Paper Number 6, United Nations Development Programme, New York.

  • Denscombe, M. (1998). The good research guide for small-scale social research projects. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drakakis-Smith, D. (1992). Urbanization and urban social change in Zimbabwe. In D. Drakakis-Smith (Ed.), Urban and regional change in Southern Africa (pp. 100–135). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO, (2008). Soaring food prices: Facts, perspectives, impacts and actions required, Report on the Proceedings of the High Level Conference on World Food Security: The Challenge of Climate and Bioenergy, 3–5 June 2008, Rome.

  • Frayne, B., Pendleton, W., Crush, J., Acquah, B., Battersby-Lennard, J., Bras, E., et al. (2009). The state of urban food insecurity in Southern Africa, urban food security series number 2. Cape Town: African Food Security Urban Network.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gandure, S., Marongwe, N. (2006). Knowledge review and gap analysis: Hunger and vulnerability in Zimbabwe, Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme, www.wahenga.net (accessed 11/06/2009).

  • Gilpin, R. (2008). Depoliticizing Zimbabwe’s economy: Solutions for two million percent, United States Institute of Peace Briefing, www.usip.org (Accessed 20/08/09).

  • Government of Zimbabwe, (2005). Zimbabwe millennium development goals 2004, Progress Report, Harare.

  • Government of Zimbabwe, 2006. Poverty Assessment Study Survey, Main Report; Ministry of Public Service, Labour & Social Welfare, Harare.

  • Government of Zimbabwe/UNICEF, (2006). World fit for children: Mid-decade progress report; Zimbabwe 2002–2006, Harare.

  • Grant, M. (2007). Lodging as a migrant economic strategy in urban Zimbabwe. Development Southern Africa, 24(1), 77–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanke, S. H., Kwok, A. K. (2009). On the Measurement of Zimbabwe’s Hyperinflation, www.cato.org/pubs/journal/.

  • International Crisis Group, (2005). Zimbabwe’s Operation Murambatsvina: The Tipping Point? Africa Report, Number 97, 17 august 2005, Harare.

  • Kessides, C. (2005). The urban transition in Sub-Saharan Africa: implications for economic growth and poverty reduction, Urban Development Unit, Transport and Urban Development Department ,The World Bank, Africa Region, Working Paper Series No. 97). http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/wp97.pdf/18/11/08.

  • Leybourne, S. L., Grant, M. (1999). Bottlenecks in the informal food- transportation network of Harare, Zimbabwe. In M. Koc, R. MacRae, L. J. A. Mougeot & J. Welsh (Eds.), For hunger-proof cities: Sustainable urban food systems, p110–114, IDRC, Ontario, Canada.

  • Lipton, M. (1977). Why poor people stay poor. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipton, M. (2005). Urban bias. In: forsyth T (ed), Encyclopedia of international development. Routledge.

  • Loughhead, S., Mittal, O., Wood, G. (2001). Urban poverty and vulnerability in India: DFID’s experiences from a social policy perspective, http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu-projects/drivers_urb_change/urb_society/pdf_liveli_vulnera/DFID_Loughhead_Reducing_Urban_Poverty_India.pdf (Accessed 20/09/2011).

  • Malaba, J. (2006). Poverty measurement and gender: Zimbabwe’s experience, Inter-Agency and Expert Group Meeting on the Development of Gender Statistics 12–14 December 2006, United Nations, New York.

  • Mattes, R. (2008). The material and political bases of lived poverty in Africa: insights from the afrobarometer, Working Paper Number 98, Cape Town, http://www.afrobarometer.org/papers/AfropaperNo98.pdf (Accessed 06/10/09).

  • Maxwell, D. (1998). The political economy of urban food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Food Consumption and Nutrition Division Discussion Paper Number 41, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C.

  • Mitlin, D., Satterthwaite, D. (2011). Is there really so little urban poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa? CIVIS Number 4, Cities Alliance, www.citiesalliance.org/ca/sites/citiesalliance.org/files/civis_March2011.pdf (accessed 20/09/2011).

  • Moser, C. (1998). The asset vulnerability framework: reassessing urban poverty reduction strategies. World Dev, 21(1), p1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser, C., Satterthwaite, D. (2008). Towards Pro-poor Adaptation to Climate Change in the Urban Centres of Low- and Middle-Income Countries, Human Settlements Discussion Paper Series, Climate Change and Cities Discussion Paper 3, Global urban Research centre, University of Manchester.

  • Mugara, T. (2007). The impact of operation Murambatsvina (Clean Up) on Urban Livelihoods of Informal Vendors in Harare, Zimbabwe, Paper Prepared for the Living on the Margins Conference in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa, 26–28 March 2007.

  • Mupedziswa, R. (1997). Empowerment or repression? ESAP and Children in Zimbabwe. Gweru: Mambo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyerere, J. K. (1968). Ujamaa essays on socialism. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owuor, S. O. (2006). Bridging the urban-rural divide; multi-spatial livelihoods in Nakuru, Kenya. Cape Town: African Studies Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patel, D. (1984). Housing the urban poor in the socialist transformation of Zimbabwe. In M. Schatzberg (Ed.), The political economy of Zimbabwe. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pendleton, W. (1996). Katutura: A place where we stay, Ohio University Centre for International Studies, Monographs in International Studies, Africa Series, Number 65. Athens: Ohio University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potts, D. (2006). ‘All my hopes are shattered’: Urbanization and migrancy in an imploding African economy-the case of Zimbabwe. Geoforum, 37, 536–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Potts, D. (2008). Recent trends in rural-urban and urban-rural migration in Sub-Saharan Africa: The empirical evidence and implications for understanding urban livelihood insecurity, Department of Geography, King’s College London

  • Potts, D., & Mutambirwa, C. C. (1991). Rural–urban linkages in contemporary Harare: Why migrants need their land. Journal of Southern African Studies, 16(4), 676–696.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potts, D., & Mutambirwa, C. C. (1998). Basics are now a luxury’; Perceptions of structural adjustment’s impact on rural and urban areas in Zimbabwe. Environment and Urbanization, 10(1), 55–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rakodi, C. (1995a). Poverty lines or household strategies?: A review of conceptual issues in the study of urban poverty. HABITAT INTL, 19(4), 407–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rakodi, C. (1995b). The household strategies of the urban poor: Coping with poverty and recession in Gweru, Zimbabwe. HABITAT INTL, 19(4), 447–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rakodi, C. (2002). A Livelihoods Approach-Conceptual Issues and Definitions. In C. Rakodi & A. Lloyd-Jones (Eds.), Urban livelihoods: A people-centered approach to reducing poverty. London: Earthscan Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranga, D. (2004). The migration effects of the economic structural adjustment programme on a rural community in Zimbabwe. African Population Studies, 19(1).

  • Ravallion, M., Chen, S., & Sangraula, P. (2007). New evidence on urbanization of global poverty’. Population and Development Review, 33(4), 667–701.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sachikonye, L. (2003). The situation of commercial farm workers after land reform. A report for Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe, Catholic Institute For International Relations, London.

  • Scoones, I., Marongwe, N., Mavedzenge, B., Mahenehene, J., Murimbarimba, F., & Sulume, F. (2010). Zimbabwe’s land reform: Myths and realities. Harare: Weaver Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, L., and Mugova, A. (2006). Zimbabwe: Staying afloat in a crisis, Understanding Urban Livelihoods, ITDG, Harare.

  • Stevens, L., Coupe, S., Mitlin, D. (2005). Confronting the crisis in urban poverty: Making integrated approaches work, London.

  • Swift, J., & Hamilton, K. (2001). Household food and livelihood security. In S. Devereaux & S. Maxwell (Eds.), Food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. London: ITDG.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swindale, A., Bilinsky, P. (2006). Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) for measurement of household food access: Indicator guide, Volume 2, Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANTA), Academy for Educational Development, Washington, D.C.

  • Tekere, M. (2001). Trade liberalization under structural economic adjustment – impact on social welfare in Zimbabwe’, University of Zimbabwe, Department of Economics.

  • Tibaijuka, A. (2005). Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to assess the Scope and Impact of ‘Operation Murambatsvina in Zimbabwe, UN-Habitat Special Envoy on Human Settlements, 18 July 2005.

  • UNICEF, (2004). Report on the Zimbabwe Country Programme End of Cycle Review 2000–2004, Harare.

  • United Nations Population Fund. (2007). State of the world population 2007: Unleashing the potential of urban growth. New York: UNFPA.

    Google Scholar 

  • USAID, (2009). Fighting disaster-induced urban poverty in Zimbabwe http://urbanhealthupdates.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/usaidofda-success-story (Accessed 28/09/09).

  • Waite, L. (2000). How is household vulnerability gendered? Female-headed households in the collectives of Suleimaniyah. Disasters, 24(2), 153–172.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2005a). Repositioning Nutrition as Central to the Development Agenda: A Strategy for Large-Scale Action. Washington: The World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2005b). Repositioning nutrition as central to the development agenda: A strategy for large-scale action. Washington: The World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • World Food Summit, (1996). Rome declaration on world food security.

  • Yoshikuni, T. (2006). African urban experience in colonial Zimbabwe: A social history of harare before 1925. Harare: Weaver Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the Programme in Urban Food Security (PUFS) at the University of Cape Town for availing funding used in this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. African Centre for Cities (ACC), Shell Environmental & Geographical Science Building, University of Cape Town, P.O. Box X3, Rondebosch, 7701, Cape Town, South Africa

    Godfrey Tawodzera

Authors
  1. Godfrey Tawodzera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Godfrey Tawodzera.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tawodzera, G. Vulnerability in crisis: urban household food insecurity in Epworth, Harare, Zimbabwe. Food Sec. 3, 503–520 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-011-0152-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-011-0152-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation