A Review of Livelihoods, Food Security and Health: 2015/2016 El Niño Situation Analysis

KEY MESSAGES FROM RESPONDENTS

• As of mid to late May 2016, 37 percent of households reported water shortages, with elevated water prices putting disproportionate financial pressure on poor households.
• Drought-related crop losses led to a 22 percent decline in household paddy and cassava production. Attempting to mitigate losses, households re-invested in agricultural activities, taking on additional loans as a result (averaging USD 1,282 per household).
• 62 percent of households reported income losses over the past year, with household’s losing 19 percent of income on average. This translated to a loss of USD 0.19 per person per day for the near poor.
• 18 percent of households lacked dietary diversity while 11 percent reported to be hungry. To cope, 13 percent of households were regularly altering eating patterns, with 37 percent eating less preferred food and 10 percent cutting adult portion sizes to ensure their children had enough to eat.
• Amongst households with children under 5, two-thirds reported that one or more of their children was sick, with diarrheal illnesses most prevalent. Complementary feeding for children under 2 was found to be a concern with 60 percent lacking the needed diversity and 32 percent lacking the needed number of meals.