EFFECT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWNON SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS, FOOD AVAILABILITY AND CONSUMPTION PATTERN IN HOUSEHOLDS IN AMAC AREA COUNCIL OF FCT, ABUJA

ABSTRACT

The aim of study was to assess the effect of covid-19 pandemic lock down on household socio-economic status, food availability and consumption pattern in Amac Area Council of FCT, Abuja. This study was a cross-sectional study. 400 respondents were randomly selected in 21 settlements in AMAC FCT (Idu, Koroduma, Karmo, Jiwa, Gwagwa, Nyanya, Kurudu, Karu, Karshi, Orozo, Kugbo, Shereti,Karo-Majiji, Wuse, Garki, Utako, Lugbe,Gwarimpa, Apo,Jabi andAlita). A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect respondents’ information on socio-economic characteristics, food availability, household food situation and consumption pattern. Mean age of respondents was 41±10.812 years.  Household food availability was affected poorly especially snacks (79.8%)(p<0.05).  Almost all the respondents were worried about lack of food in their households (94.3%). Most of respondents ate less amounts of foods (84.7 %)(p<0.05).   Higher number skipped meals (86.3 %)(p<0.05). Prices of foods were very high in the markets (86.0%)(p<0.05). There was poor food consumption pattern. Only 40.0 % cooked food 4 times per week while 23.3 % never or rarely cooked foods during covid-19 lockdown. Cooking frequency was 100 % lower than what it was before the lockdown. Covid-19 lockdown had very high negative effects on food availability, food situation and consumption pattern in the households of respondents in this study population. Government palliatives will help to cushion this very poor food effects on the respondents.

Word count: 226

Key words: Covid-19, food availability, food situation and consumption pattern

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0  Background of the study

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is defined as illness caused by a novel coronavirus now called severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; formerly called 2019-nCoV). It was first identified amid an outbreak of respiratory illness cases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. COVID-19 was initially reported to the WHO on December 31, 2019. January 30, 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 outbreak a global health emergency and in March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was finally declared a global pandemic. (WHO 2021).Nigeria has confirmed one hundred and sixty-four thousand (164,000) cases of Covid-19 across the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). One hundred and fifty-four (154,000) recoveries and 2,060 deaths (Centre for Disease Control, 2021).The Covid-19 as a respiratory infection can be transmitted through droplets of different sizes: when the droplet particles are >5-10 um in diameter they are referred to as respiratory droplets, and when they are <5μm in diameter, they are referred to as droplet nuclei. According to current evidence, COVID-19 virus is primarily transmitted between people through respiratory droplets and contact routes. In an analysis of 75,465 COVID-19 cases in China, airborne transmission was not reported.

Globally, the corona virus outbreak began in Wuhan, China in December, 2019 known as (SAR-COV-2, the virus has resulted in  more than one hundred and eighty two million infection (182 million) infections and more than 3.9 million deaths.(MNT 2021). The covid-19 virus infects people of old ages. However, evidence today suggest that two groups of people are at a higher risk of getting serve covid-19 disease. This are older people and those underlying medical conditions such as (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer). The risk of server disease gradually increases with age stating from around forty years. It is important that adults in this age range protect themselves and in turn protect others that may be more venerable.(WHO, 2020)

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year.

Millions of enterprises face an existential threat. Nearly half of the world’s 3.3 billion global workforce are at risk of losing their livelihoods. Informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because the majority lacks social protection and access to quality health care and have lost access to productive assets. Without the means to earn an income during lockdowns, many are unable to feed themselves and their families. For most, no income means no food, or, at best, less food and less nutritious food, (ILO/FAO/ IFAD/WHO Statement,2020).

The pandemic hasaffected the entire food system and has laid bare its fragility. Border closures, trade restrictions and confinement measures have been preventing farmers from accessing markets, including for buying inputs and selling their produce, and agricultural workers from harvesting crops, thus disrupting domestic and international food supply chains and reducing access to healthy, safe and diverse diets. The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being hardest hit (World Health Organization, 2021).The potential socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 on African countries, the World Bank published a working paper, “Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 in Four African Countries,” in early November. The paper analyzes data from a series of phone surveys undertaken every month since May 2020 with a national sample of households in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda (WHO 2021).Data shows the percentage of households that have lost income from five sources, farm income, business income, wage income, remittances, and all other sources in rural and urban areas of each of the four countries. According to the paper, income losses have been particularly severe in Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda, where a majority of households that relied on income from any of the five sources over the past 12 months have lost income due to the pandemic.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with projected population of 3, 378,000 and six Area Council reported 6,385 cases of Covid-19, 25% of the cases, 5,934 recovered and 82 deaths (25%) mortality in the country.Within FCT, 3,850 Covid-19 cases was reported whileAmac Area Council account for 2,618 (68%) of the cases reported followed by Bwari, Kuje, Gwadalada, Kwali and Abaji respectively. (Federal Capital, Territory Administration, FCTA, 2021)

1.1 Research Questions

The research Questions for this study are as follow: -

1.      What is the socio-economic status of the households in the AMAC FCT?

2.      What is the level of food availability in the households during and after lockdown?

3.      What is the house-hold food situation during and after covid-19.

4.      What is food consumption pattern of the households during and after covid-19 lockdown in AMAC FCT?

5.      Are there significant differences in the households food availability, food situation and consumption pattern during and after covid-19 lockdown?

1.2       General Objective

The general objective of this study is to assesstheeffect of covid-19 pandemic on household socio-economic status, food availability, household food situation and consumption pattern in AMAC Area Councilof FCT, Abuja.

1.2.1Specific study objectives are to:

1.      assessthe socio-economic status of the households in the study area.

2.      examine the food availability in the households during and after covid-19 lockdown

3.      assess household food situation during and after covid-19 lockdown.

4.      determinefood consumption pattern of the house-holds during and after covid-19 lock-down in AMAC FCT.

5.      determinethe significant difference between socio-economic status (SES), food availability, household food situation and consumption pattern in the households during and afterCOVID-19 lockdown.

1.3 Statement of Problem

In the early first quarter of year 2020, Nigeria was forced to shut down due to the global Covid-19 pandemic disease in which both public and private sectors was closed down with the aim of curtailing or preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The lock-down which lasted for  about six month (From March to September 2020)causeda lot of challenges to households socio-economic status, food availability and food consumption pattern particularly with reference to Abuja municipal area council, public/privates places such as hospitals, schools, markets, hotels, boutiques, restaurants, shops/kiosk etc. were closed down and movement of people/vehicles are restricted. This lead to serious problems. Many people could not meet-up with their daily incomes most especially for those that depended on daily earning for their living, and for those that work under private have lost their jobs while some were placed on half salary which cannot be enough to take care of their house demands or needs. The aim of this studies is therefore to assess the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on social economics status (SES), food availability and consumption pattern among households in AMAC, FCT.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Agriculture is one of the most essential sectors in human development and it is related to food availability. Food is key to personal health. The partial or complete lockdown measures introduced at regional and national levels, such as the closure of schools, universities, workplaces, non-essential shops and restaurants, banned events, and travel and mobility restrictions, likely changed the way people accessed their food, where they ate, and how their food was prepared. There is limited information on how the pandemic and associated lockdown policies, affected food availability and consumption pattern at house hood level before and after the Covid 19 in AMAC Area council, FCT. Hence, this study is to;

Asses the immediate socioeconomic consequences and effects of COVID-19 on food availability and consumption pattern in AMAC Area Council, FCT and also to understand the critical needs of the households living in the study Area and control the negative consequences of the pandemic on their quality of life, which will lead to preparing and adopting response system towards inhibiting future occurrence capable of endangering the livelihood of households,the study will add  to the growing body of knowledge on COVID-19 Pandemic  by examining  the socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak and induced lockdown restrictions in the study area as well as the implication on household  economics status, food availability and consumption pattern which link to complement the existing knowledge to guide policy discussions on food availability/security implications and coping measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and inform decision-making on preserving the livelihoods of households that are most vulnerable to the pandemic. It provides encouragement for charting a course of action on food ethics by governments, internal and international NGOs, health systems, and global organizations and designing responsive programs to meet the most urgent needs of households in AMAC area council, and this should be replicated in other states in Nigeria.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

AMAC                  -           Abuja Municipal Area Council

FCT                      -           Federal Capital Territory

ILO                       -           International Labour Organization

FAO                      -           Food and Agricultural Organization

WHO                    -           World Health Organization

NGO                     -           Non Governmental Organization

SES                       -           Socio-economic Status.

SARS                    -           Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

FCTA                   -           Federal Capital Territory Administration

MERS                   -           Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

SDGS                    -           Sustainable Development Goals

UN                        -           United Nation

GDP                      -           Gross Domestic Product

NPLS                          -           National Longitudinal Phone Survey 

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