BackgroundHigh food prices have emerged as a major global challenge, especially for poor and urban households in low-income countries such as Ethiopia. However, there is little empirical evidence on urban food security and how people living in urban areas are coping with sustained high food prices. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the food insecurity situation in urban Ethiopia -a country experiencing sustained high food prices, high rates of urban poverty, and a growing urban population.MethodsA community based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 18 to February 14, 2012. A total of 550 households were selected from three sub-cities of Addis Ababa using three-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using questionnaire based interview with household heads. Items in the questionnaire include, among others, basic socioeconomic variables, dietary diversity and coping strategies. Food security status of households was assessed by a Household Food Insecurity Access Score. Data analysis was done using SPSS software and both univariate and bivariate analysis were done.ResultsThe study found that 75% of households were food insecure and 23% were in a state of hunger. Households with higher food insecurity scores tend to have lower dietary diversity and are less likely to consume high quality diets. Reduction in meal size and shifting to poor quality/less expensive/food types were among the common coping strategies to high food price used by households. Household incomes, occupational and educational status of household heads were significant determinants of food security.ConclusionFood insecurity in Ethiopia is not only a rural problem. Urban food insecurity is a growing concern due to the toxic combination of high rates of urban poverty, high dependency of urban households on food supplied by the market, and fluctuating food prices. Household food insecurity was particularly high among low income households and those headed by uneducated, daily wagers and government employed household heads. Therefore, policy makers should work on stabilization of the food market and creating opportunities that could improve the livelihood and purchasing power of urban households.

In recent decades, public health policy and practice have been increasingly challenged by globalization, even as global financing for health has increased dramatically. This article discusses globalization and its health challenges from a vantage of political science, emphasizing increased global flows (of pathogens, information, trade, finance, and people) as driving, and driven by, global market integration. This integration requires a shift in public health thinking from a singular focus on international health (the higher disease burden in poor countries) to a more nuanced analysis of global health (in which health risks in both poor and rich countries are seen as having inherently global causes and consequences). Several globalization-related pathways to health exist, two key ones of which are described: globalized diseases and economic vulnerabilities. The article concludes with a call for national governments, especially those of wealthier nations, to take greater account of global health and its social determinants in all their foreign policies.

Background: This study examines associations between female participation in a microcredit program in India, known as self help groups (SHGs), and women's health in the south Indian state of Kerala. Because SHGs do not have a formal health program, this provides a unique opportunity to assess whether SHG participation influences women's health via the social determinants of health.

Objectives: To examine the social patterning of women's self-reported health status in India and the validity of the two hypotheses: (1) low caste and lower socioeconomic position is associated with worse reported health status, and (2) associations between socioeconomic position and reported health status vary across castes. Design: Cross-sectional household survey, age-adjusted percentages and odds ratios, and multilevel multinomial logistic regression models were used for analysis. Setting: A panchayat (territorial decentralised unit) in Kerala, India, in 2003. Participants: 4196 non-elderly women. Outcome measures: Self-perceived health status and reported limitations in activities in daily living. Results: Women from lower castes (scheduled castes/scheduled tribes (SC/ST) and other backward castes (OBC) reported a higher prevalence of poor health than women from forward castes. Socioeconomic inequalities were observed in health regardless of the indicators, education, women's employment status or household landholdings. The multilevel multinomial models indicate that the associations between socioeconomic indicators and health vary across caste. Among SC/ST and OBC women, the influence of socioeconomic variables led to a ''magnifying'' effect, whereas among forward caste women, a ''buffering'' effect was found. Among lower caste women, the associations between socioeconomic factors and self-assessed health are graded; the associations are strongest when comparing the lowest and highest ratings of health. Conclusions: Even in a relatively egalitarian state in India, there are caste and socioeconomic inequalities in women's health. Implementing interventions that concomitantly deal with caste and socioeconomic disparities will likely produce more equitable results than targeting either type of inequality in isolation.