This article uses a case study from Malawi to demonstrate the use of a Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring (FSNM) system for managing and mitigating the effects of drought. The implementation of FSNM during the drought emergency is presented, along with a description of the process of information generation and the use of results in emergency interventions. Presenting the lessons learned from the Malawi experience for the benefit of future drought-management and disaster-prevention efforts in other sub-Saharan African countries, the article concludes that a decentralized system of data collection, processing, and analysis is more likely to be successful in planning interventions for food security and nutritional improvements during periods of drought.
References
1.
ThompsonC.Drought management in Southern Africa. Report prepared for UNICEF, Harare, 1993.
2.
MasonJ.B., HaagaJ.G., TabatabaiH., ValverdeV.Nutritional surveillance.Geneva: World Health Organization, 1984.
3.
PelletierD., JonssonU.The use of information in the Iringa nutrition program: some global lessons for nutritional surveillance. Food Policy1994; 19: 301–13.
4.
United Nations Children's Fund.Emergency in Malawi.UNICEF-Malawi, 1992.
5.
BabuS.C.Improved policies through food security and nutrition monitoring. Food Policy1992; 17: 384–6.
6.
MaxwellS.Frankenberger T. Household food security - concepts, indicators, measurements: a technical review.New York and Rome: UNICEF/IFAD, 1992.
7.
QuinnV.J., KennedyE.Food security and nutrition monitoring systems in Africa. Food Policy1994; 19: 234–54.
8.
BabuS.C., MthindiG.B.Household food security and nutrition monitoring - the Malawi approach to development planning and policy interventions. Food Policy1994; 19: 272–84.
9.
Southern Africa Development Community.Development of a regional food security and nutrition information system.Harare, Zimbabwe: SADC, 1995.
10.
BelbaseK., MorganR.Food security and nutrition monitoring for drought relief management. Food Policy1994; 19: 285–300.
11.
EeleD.Indicators for food security and nutrition monitoring. Food Policy1994; 19: 314–28.
12.
CurtisD., HubbardM., ShepherdA.Preventing famine - policies and prospects.London: Routledge, 1988.
13.
BortonJ., ClayE.The African food crisis of 1982–1986. Disasters1986; 10(4): 258–576.
14.
VaughanM.The story of an African famine.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
15.
LiebenowJ.G.Food self-sufficiency in Malawi: Are successes transferable? In: GlantzM.H., ed. Drought and hunger in Africa.London: Cambridge University Press, 1987: 367–90.
16.
GreenR.H.Sound the tocsin: the third horseman mounts to ride: drought in Southern and South Africa 1991–1993 Discussion Paper.Sussex, UK: Institute for Development Studies, 1993.
17.
LampellS.Disaster preparedness and relief in Malawi.Lilongwe, Malawi: Office of the President and Cabinet, 1988.
18.
Ministry of Agriculture.Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring Report No. 2.Lilongwe, Malawi: Ministry of Agriculture, 1992.
19.
United States Agency for International Development.Southern Africa Drought Assessment-Malawi.Washington DC: Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance, 1992: 77–89.
20.
Ministry of Agriculture.Nutrition Monitoring for the Drought, February 1993.Lilongwe, Malawi: Food and Nutrition Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, 1993.
21.
EjiguM.Towards improved response to drought in Malawi and Mozambique.New York: UNICEF, 1993.
22.
Save the Children Fund.Report on the Baseline Nutrition Assessment Conducted in Chikwawa District, Lilongwe.Lilongwe, Malawi: Save the Children Fund, 1992.
23.
Pinstrup-AndersenP.Government policies, food security and nutrition interventions. Pew/Cornell Lecture Series on Food and Nutrition Policy.Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell University Food and Nutrition Policy Program, 1989.
24.
BabuS.C., QuinnV.Food security and nutrition monitoring in Africa - introduction and historical background. Food Policy1994; 19: 211–7.
25.
BabuS.C.Agricultural policies and food security in Eastern and Southern Africa. Food Policy1994; 19: 7983.
26.
Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring.Report No. 1.Lilongwe, Malawi: Ministry of Agriculture, 1991.
27.
JereP., BabuS.C.An analysis of indicators of poverty in Malawi. Agric Econ Analysis Rural Dev1994; 4(2): 716.
28.
BabuS.C., MthindiG.B.Developing decentralized capacity for disaster prevention: lessons from food security and nutrition monitoring in Malawi. Disasters1995; 19(2): 127–39.
29.
Pinstrup-AndersenP., Pandya-LorchR., BabuS.C.Prospects for a 2020 vision for food, agriculture and the environment in Southern Africa. Working Paper.Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute, 1996.
30.
SimlerK.Coping strategies of smallholder households and the scope for targeted interventions to improve food security. Malawi Agricultural Sector Memorandum Working Paper.Washington, DC: World Bank, 1993.
31.
ChapasukaE.Monitoring of food security and nutrition in Malawi. In: MatayaC., BabuS eds. Manual on food and nutrition policy analysis.Lilongwe, Malawi: Agricultural Policy Analysis Training Programme, Bunda College of Agriculture, 1995: 132–60.
