Food insecurity experience of pregnant and lactating women from rural households in Tamil Nadu,India during COVID lockdown – Empirical evidence from household air pollution intervention network study

Abstract

Background

Food insecurity is a major public health concern in India because of the high prevalence of malnourishment. The COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns caused widespread disruptions in food systems. However, limited empirical evidence on food insecurity trends among vulnerable populations have been available.

Objectives

We utilised longitudinal data collected from the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) study in Tamil Nadu, India, between January to September 2020, in order understand the impact of the COVID pandemic on household food insecurity (HFI) in rural households.

Methods

We performed repeat (n = 4) administrations of the Food Insecurity Experience Scale tool developed by the Food and Agricultural Organisation among households with pregnant or lactating mothers, enrolled in the HAPIN study (n = 676) to include pre-COVID lockdown, during lockdown, immediately after lockdown and post-COVID lockdown periods.

Results

The overall prevalence of HFI during the pre-COVID lockdown was 4% with a sharp fivefold increase during the lockdown period. The HFI decreased to 17% in the immediately after lockdown period and stabilised at around 7% in the post-COVID lockdown period.

Conclusions

High levels of food insecurity (even if transient) that was observed during lockdown periods of the COVID 19 pandemic in rural Tamil Nadu indicate the potential for increased health risks for pregnant women and lactating mothers in low-income households.