A declaration on the value of experiential measures of food and water insecurity to improve science and policies in Latin America and the Caribbean

International Journal for Equity in Health

Comment

Teresa Shamah-Levy¹  Sera L. Young²  Rafael Pérez-Escamilla³  Graciela Teruel-Belismelis⁴  Pablo Gaitán-Rossi⁴  Hugo Melgar-Quiñonez⁵ 

[1] Centro de Investigación en Evaluación Y Encuestas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México;Department of Anthropology & Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA;Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA;Instituto de Investigaciones Para El Desarrollo Con Equidad, Universidad Iberoamericana, Prolongación, Av. P.º de La Reforma 880, Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, 01219, Ciudad de México, México;School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada;

关键词: Food insecurity;    Water insecurity;    Food security;    Water security;    Sustainable development goals;    Latin American & Caribbean;    Measurement;    Indicator;    Scales;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-023-01956-w

 received in 2023-06-12, accepted in 2023-07-10,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWater security is necessary for good health, nutrition, and wellbeing, but experiences with water have not typically been measured. Given that measurement of experiences with food access, use, acceptability, and reliability (stability) has greatly expanded our ability to promote food security, there is an urgent need to similarly improve the measurement of water security. The Water InSecurity Experiences (WISE) Scales show promise in doing so because they capture user-side experiences with water in a more holistic and precise way than traditional supply- side indicators. Early use of the WISE Scales in Latin American & the Caribbean (LAC) has revealed great promise, although representative data are lacking for most of the region. Concurrent measurement of experiential food and water insecurity has the potential to inform the development of better-targeted interventions that can advance human and planetary health.Main textOn April 20–21, 2023, policymakers, community organizers, and researchers convened at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City to discuss lessons learned from using experiential measures of food and water insecurity in LAC. At the meeting’s close, organizers read a Declaration that incorporated key meeting messages. The Declaration recognizes the magnitude and severity of the water crisis in the region as well as globally. It acknowledges that traditional measurement tools do not capture many salient water access, use, and reliability challenges. It recognizes that the WISE Scales have the potential to assess the magnitude of water insecurity more comprehensively and accurately at community, state, and national levels, as well as its (inequitable) relationship with poverty, poor health. As such, WISE data can play an important role in ensuring more accountability and strengthening water systems governance through improved public policies and programs. Declaration signatories express their willingness to promote the widespread use of the WISE Scales to understand the prevalence of water insecurity, guide investment decisions, measure the impacts of interventions and natural shocks, and improve public health.ConclusionsFifty-three attendees endorsed the Declaration – available in English, Spanish and Portuguese— as an important step to making progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6, “Clean Water and Sanitation for All”, and towards the realization of the human right to water.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 4

13731_2023_332_Article_IEq8.gif

13731_2023_332_Article_IEq7.gif