COVID- 19 and human right to food: lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya with the impacts of government’s response measures, a participatory qualitative study

Abstract

Background Globally, governments put in place measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. Information on the effects of these measures on the urban poor is limited. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya in the context of government’s COVID-19 response measures and its impact on the human right to food. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in two informal settlements in Nairobi between January and March 2021. Analysis draws on eight focus group discussions, eight in-depth interviews, 12 key informant interviews, two photovoice sessions and three digital storytelling sessions. Phenomenology was applied to understand an individual’s lived experiences with the human right to food during COVID − 19. Thematic analysis was performed using NVIVO software. Results The human right to food was affected in various ways. Many people lost their livelihoods, affecting affordability of food, due to response measures such as social distancing, curfew, and lockdown. The food supply chain was disrupted causing limited availability and access to affordable, safe, adequate, and nutritious food. Consequently, hunger and an increased consumption of low-quality food was reported. Social protection measures were instituted. However, these were inadequate and marred by irregularities. Some households resorted to scavenging food from dumpsites, skipping meals, sex-work, urban-rural migration and depending on food donations to survive. On the positive side, some households resorted to progressive measures such as urban farming and food sharing in the community. Generally, the response measures could have been more sensitive to the human rights of the urban poor. Conclusions The government’s COVID-19 restrictive measures exacerbated the already existing vulnerability of the urban poor to food insecurity and violated their human right to food. Future response measures should be executed in ways that respect the human right to food and protect marginalized people from resultant vulnerabilities.

Effects of COVID-19 on coastal livelihoods in the central region of Ghana

“…Countries across the globe have applied social distancing measures together with vaccination in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. These social distance measures and restrictions aimed at mitigating the pandemic have been shown to worsen vulnerabilities such as anxiety, loss of livelihoods, uncertainty and violation of human rights, as demonstrated in earlier studies ( Kansiime et al, 2021 ; Kimani-Murage et al, 2022 ; Rahman et al, 2021 ). In the short term, the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted work arrangements and livelihood activities.…”

Assessing the impact of Covid-19 on Nurturing Care in Nairobi Slums: Findings from 5 rounds of cross-sectional telephone surveys

“…For example, health service disruption has been documented through time-series analyses in Kenya which showed that the biggest declines in activity were in outpatient visits and childhood immunisations, with some rebound as the pandemic evolved(23). Several studies have documented the radical economic shocks precipitated by the pandemic, including globally/regionally(24) and within Kenyan slums particularly, where the pandemic and resulting government policies were reported to have had devastating consequences on the livelihood of slum dwellers who were “left to choose between life and livelihood”(25), “violating” their human right to food(26). Such findings were replicated in Bangladesh, where the impacts on household economics (27,28) and the mental health of caregivers (27) were stark.…”

Global Landscape of Urban Agriculture and Covid-19 Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…As with previous crises, urban agriculture during the Covid-19 pandemic has been positioned as a solution to address the negative impact of the crisis on the food sector (Nchanji & Lutomia, 2021;Paganini et al, 2020;Sridhar et al, 2022). The pandemic and associated restrictions disrupted the food supply chain (Khan et al, 2020) and created food insecurity (Houessou et al, 2021;Kimani-Murage et al, 2022) by interrupting the regular flow of food from producers to consumers, leading to increased food prices, labor supply issues, and reduced access to and availability of food (Bulgari et al, 2021;Kimani-Murage et al, 2022;Priyadarshini & Abhilash, 2021). At the same time, the lockdowns reduced income due to restrictions on movement and the decline in business (Manda, 2022), creating economic barriers to access food.…”

“…This is in line with the study of Mead et al (2022), which indicated that home food growing in the United Kingdom during Covid-19 resulted in a lower level of food insecurity and a higher level of well-being. Due to the multifunctionality of urban agriculture, it was promoted in various cities during Covid-19 (Janowska et al, 2022;Music et al, 2022;Kimani-Murage et al, 2022).…”