The Impact of COVID-19 on Households in Nepal, third round of mVAM Household Livelihoods, Food Security and Vulnerability Survey

[NeKSAP]

Produced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) and UN World Food Programme (WFP)

Dear NeKSAP users,

We are pleased to share you the results of the third round of mVAM household survey on the impact of COVID-19 on household food security and vulnerability in Nepal.

Following are some key findings:

• Food insecurity across the country has decreased compared to estimates conducted in April and August 2020, however remains higher than 4 years ago. The mVAM household survey found that 16.8 percent of households had inadequate food consumption; 7.4 percent adopted negative livelihood coping strategy; and about 2.7 percent reported that the food they had in stock was insufficient to meet their needs.
• Proportion of children between 6-23 months of age that did not meet the minimum recommended dietary diversity remained relatively same in December 2020 ( 42.7 %) as in August (43.1%), and declined slightly compared to April 2020 (45.9%).
  
• The COVID-19 crisis has affected the livelihoods of Nepalese households, with 5 percent of households reporting a loss of livelihood and 21 percent a reduction in income.
  
• More than 3 out of 4 respondents reported to have food stocks, of which nearly 50 percent had more than one-month worth of food stock. About 62 percent of households acquire food through market purchase.
  
• Loss of income source was found to be more common for certain types of livelihoods, namely daily wage labourers, tourism, households receiving remittances and large and medium businesses/trade, and households with a disabled person.
  
• Food insecurity was more prevalent among household that experienced income reduction and job loss and certain livelihood types. Similarly, households with low education levels, a chronically ill member, female-headed households, and households living in rural areas were found to be more food insecure.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, WFP had conducted a third round of nation-wide phone-based household survey in December 2020 to assess the impact of the prolonged crisis of COVID-19 on food security and livelihoods in Nepal. Total of 4,526 randomly selected households were interviewed. The questionnaire included standard WFP modules where possible, covering: i) demographics; ii) livelihood and income; iii) access to food and market; iv) food consumption; v) breastfeeding practices and diet diversity, vi) coping behaviors, and vii) health status and COVID-19 cases. Details are presented in the report.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us in the contact address mentioned in the report.

With best regards,

Pushpa

Pushpa Shrestha (Mr)

VAM Officer | Deputy Head, Evidence, Policy and Innovation (EPI)

World Food Programme

Chakupat, Patan Dhoka Road, Lalitpur, Nepal

Tel: +977 1 5260 607, Ext. 2424; VSAT: 1346-2424

Mobile: +977 98510 00562

Email: Pushpa....@wfp.org