The relationship between climate change induced natural disasters and selected nutrition outcomes: a case of cyclone Idai, Zimbabwe

BMC Nutrition

Research

Vimbainashe Prisca Dembedza¹  Lesley Macheka¹  Prosper Chopera²  George Kembo³  Jacob Mapara⁴  Nomalanga Mpofu-Hamadziripi⁵ 

[1] Centre for Innovation and Industrialisation, Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, P.O Box 35, Marondera, Zimbabwe;Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, P.O Box MP 167, Mt Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe;Food and Nutrition Council, 1574 Alpes Road Hatcliffe, Harare, Zimbabwe;Institute of Lifelong Learning & Development Studies, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Private Bag 7724, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe;Institute of Teaching and Learning, Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, P.O Box 35, Marondera, Zimbabwe;

关键词: Climate change;    Natural disasters;    Nutrition outcomes;    Cyclone Idai;    Zimbabwe;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40795-023-00679-z

 received in 2022-08-22, accepted in 2023-01-16,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe increased frequency of climate induced natural disasters has exacerbated the risks of malnutrition in the already vulnerable regions. This study was aimed at exploring the effects of Cyclone Idai on nutrition outcomes of women of child-bearing age and children under 5 years.MethodThe household-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Eastern Zimbabwe. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews to determine food consumption score (FCS) and household dietary diversity (HDDS), minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) and minimum dietary diversity for children (MDD-C). Severity of Cyclone Idai was grouped into five categories based on the extent of damage to infrastructure and loss of human lives. Association between continuous and categorical variables was tested using Pearson correlation test and Chi square test, respectively. Linear and binary logistic regression was performed to investigate determinants of food security.ResultsA total of 535 households were interviewed. There was a significant correlation between severity of Cyclone Idai and MDD-W (p = 0.011), HDDS (p = 0.018) and FCS (p = 0.001). However, severity of Cyclone Idai was not a determinant of any nutrition outcome, but gender of household head was a negative predictor of HDDS (β = − 0.734, p = 0.040), and marital status of household head was a positive predictor (β = 0.093, p = 0.016) of FCS.ConclusionThe findings provide a good baseline to inform future programming of food aid activities during disasters. More so, our findings call for evidence-based policies regarding composition of a food aid basket and targeting of beneficiaries. The main strength of this study is that it is the first to investigate the effects of cyclones on food and nutrition security indicators and is based on a large sample size thus making our results generalisable.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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Fig. 6