Household Food Insecurity Evidence among Rural Pastoralist Community in South Omo, Ethiopia

Background: Food insecurity is a significant public health problem in developing nations particularly in Ethiopia. During COVID- 19, food insecurity has worsened as result of lock down in most part of Africa as well as Ethiopia. In this regard, several studies have been conducted in central and agrarian communities, yet there is little evidence of studies on food insecurity in pastoralist communities. Thus, the study aimed to assess the burden and factors associated with food insecurity at rural pastoralist community.

Methodology: A community-based, comparative cross-sectional study conducted among 536 households. Pre-tested and structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were entered in Epi info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 25 for data analysis.

Results: The overall prevalence of food insecurity in this study area was 88% [95% CI: 88.2, 91.0]. Low land agro-ecology [(AOR=3.1, 95% CI: (1.5, 6.3)], pastoralist community [AOR=3.7, 95% CI: (1.6, 8.7)], low wealth index [(AOR=2.5, 95% CI: (1.1. 3.6)], and larger family size composition which were statistically significant with food insecurity at household level.

Conclusion: The burden of food insecurity was 88% in the study area. This was substantially high level and a severe public health problem. Low wealth index, family size, and low land agro ecology were contributing factors for food insecurity. Therefore, policy makers and local administration advised to invest pastoralist income generating intervention and modernize agricultural technology to tackle food insecurity in the study area.