By Alusine Sesay
Food insecurity is increasing in Sierra Leone. The average calorie and protein supply per person is below the African average and declining, especially in the case of protein supply.
Since the onset of COVID-19, the prevalence of insufficient food consumption has increased and is projected to affect 55 percent of the population by 2023, according to the new World Bank Sierra Leone Economic Update launched on October 27, 2023, in Freetown.
The report notes that economic shocks have intensified food insecurity in Sierra Leone, adding that the deterioration in economic conditions in Sierra Leone has further aggravated the structural constraints on food security.
The report shows that vulnerable groups in both rural and urban areas have been severely impacted.
World Bank Sierra Leone Economic Update indicates, “In January 2023, 788,000 individuals (9.3 percent of Sierra Leone’s population) were facing crisis or emergency. While this number is below the all-time high of 1.5 million in March 2021, it is growing and was expected to increase to 1.1 million (13 percent of the population) by August 2023. Currently, the number of people projected to be facing emergency (IPC4) level food insecurity increased from zero in January to over 21,500 by August 2023. Some 4.5 million people (55 percent of the population) have insufficient food consumption, 3.9 million people (48 percent of the population) have crisis or above crisis-level food-based coping strategies, and 3.22 million people (38 percent of the population) face challenges accessing markets.”
According to the report, while the rate of chronic undernourishment is relatively stable (with a slight upward trend), rapid population growth means that the size of the problem is steadily increasing in absolute terms.
The report states that over the years, the rates of food and nutrition insecurity in Sierra Leone have been some of the most severe in West and Central Africa (AFW), as well as globally.
“The numbers of people experiencing IPC3+ conditions have increased eight-fold since 2016; an alarming trend. Additionally, the number of people on the cusp of crisis increased by nearly five-fold over the same period. The rate of increase in both categories has outpaced AFW and global trends nearly every year since 2016.”
The report indicates that while COVID-19 and the global impacts driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been more recent contributing factors, these trends well preceded the global crises. Between 2017 and 2020, the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet grew by 29 percent to over 862,000.
Sierra Leone has faced persistent challenges along all the four dimensions of food security: access, availability, utilization, and system stability. The physical availability of food is determined by the level of food production, stock levels, and net trade, whereas economic and physical access to food is related to incomes, expenditure, markets, and prices.
Food Access
Income levels and market systems are the primary determinants of access to food for most households.
In 2022, 87 percent of Sierra Leoneans devoted 65 percent of their overall expenditures to food [WFP, 2022].
Therefore, macroeconomic shocks that squeeze household incomes have adverse implications for their ability to purchase food, according to the report. “Overall access to food has been eroded as a result of falling incomes in recent years.” “Per capita GDP fell sharply following the Ebola crisis of 2014-15 and has stagnated since then. The report shows that access to food is also highly unequal. In 2018, the poorest 20 percent of households accounted for just 8 percent of total food consumption expenditures compared to 45 percent for the richest quintile.
The Report indicates that recent developments in international markets, and the rise in domestic food inflation have accentuated challenges to food access. Global commodity price inflation (for food, fuel, fertilizer) has been driven by a combination of high freight charges due to COVID-related supply chain disruptions, and the negative supply shock created by the war in Ukraine. “Food price inflation for December 2022 was 47 percent, up by 30 percentage points from the start of the year. In 2022, there was an almost 45 percent increase in the price of rice, with a slight difference between the price increases of local (47 percent) and imported (42 percent) rice. Between January 2021 and December 2022, the amount of rice that could be afforded with the average daily wage fell by 40 percent. The price of cassava, another staple product, rose by over 27 percent during the course of 2022.”
The World Bank Report indicates that sustained access to agricultural produce is also hindered by poor rural infrastructure. Poor rural infrastructure raises the costs of inputs and food purchases and impedes access to urban markets. Inadequate on-farm storage capacity and poor access to appropriate post-harvest management technologies and practices lead to high wastage and spoilage, according to the report.
Food Availability
Despite having just enough calories to meet the aggregate needs of the population, albeit with a downward trend, the report indicates that Sierra Leone falls behind Africa and the world in terms of average calorie supply, indicating a break between food availability and access.
The country relies on imports to meet over 60 percent of the domestic requirements of the main staple food (rice), which often exposes it to major external shocks.