Assessing the situation of food security of Afghan refugee households in Southern areas in Tehran province

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Iran

Abstract

Nowadays, the issue of providing food security of vulnerable groups is one of the ‎formidable challenges at the international level. Refugees as one of these vulnerable ‎groups are always considered by governments and improving the situation of their food ‎security is substantial in many developed and developing countries. In this study, the ‎situation of food security of Afghan refugees was assessed in Southern areas in Tehran ‎province, 2018-2019. The needed data was collected via filling out the HFIAS questionnaire and ‎the questions related to socio-economic factors. The results showed that 88.7% of ‎Afghan refugee households face food insecurity in the target areas and prevailing ‎moderate food insecurity is more than mild and severe level (40.7%). The age of headed-‎household, heads' occupation (permanent or seasonal job), income groups (medium and ‎high level of income), the number of employed members, and personal saving are ‎inversely and significantly associated with food insecurity. On the other hand, having a ‎child greater than 18 years old, the number of male children, and head's smoking have ‎a direct and significant association with food insecurity among Afghan refugee ‎household. Therefore, attending to socio-economic factors which were confirmed their ‎significant association with food insecurity in this study is important. Developing ‎employment opportunities, making easier access to banking facilities, the needed ‎education in the line of reducing the consumption of cigarette and decreasing the limited ‎access to the job market are suggestable.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Volume 51, Issue 3
August 2020
Pages 469-485

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