Acute Food Insecurity in Mega-Cities: Issues and Assistance Options

Author(s)
Kelly, C.
Publication language
English
Pages
18pp
Date published
01 Jul 2003
Type
Research, reports and studies
Keywords
Food and nutrition, Urban
Countries
Indonesia

This paper focuses on acute food insecurity as a contributing factor to disasters in mega-cities, cities of more than one million inhabitants. The case is presented that food insecurity can be a significant risk for some mega-cities, that this risk can transition to a state of disaster due to natural or political conditions, but that food insecurity is not usually considered as a cause or consequence of disasters in mega-cities, and that mechanisms for responding to food disasters in mega-cities are not well developed.

The paper also reviews hos the nature of a mega-city impacts the assessment of food security conditions and the provision of assistance in response to acute urban food insecurity, A summary of a project in response to a food crisis in Jakarta is presented to highlight unconventional mechanisms which can be used to deliver food aid in a mega-city. The paper concludes with suggestions on how monitoring and responding to food crises in mega-cities can be improved.