The Effects of Food Aid on Household Migration Patterns and Implications for Emergency Food Assessments

Author(s)

Hammond, L. et al.

Publication language

English

Pages

48pp

Date published

01 Nov 2005

Type

Research, reports and studies

Keywords

Food and nutrition, Food aid, Livelihoods

Organisations

This paper examines migration as it is practiced by people not only as a result of a crisis, but

also as a strategy to reduce vulnerability and to maximise income prior to or during a crisis.

In some cases, households or individuals may decide to migrate to areas where they can

obtain employment, natural resources or other sources of income to help reduce the impact of

the crisis. In others, people may decide to migrate to places where food aid or another type of

assistance is available. Often, migration is as much about finding protection, safety and

security as it is about taking advantage of available assistance. Access to food aid or other

forms of assistance is seldom the only determinant in people’s decisions about where to

move during crisis, and it is important that assessments maintain a realistic view of the

relative importance of relief aid within the survival strategies of disaster-affected

populations.

ALNAP