“All for One and One for All”
Comments on the
FAO Food Security Index
Elliot M Berry, MD, FRCP
Visiting Expert in Nutrition, ESN
FAO, Rome
and
Braun School of Public Health, Jerusalem
The Three Key Messages for
World Food Day 16 October 2013
1. Good Nutrition depends on Healthy Diets
2. Healthy diets require Healthy Food Systems –
along with education, health, sanitation and
other factors
3. Healthy Food Systems are made possible by
appropriate policies, incentives and governance
Question: How to assess and monitor
Sustainable Healthy Food Systems?
The Elements of Food (In)Security
Indicators
Level
Availability
National
Waste
Accessibility
Food Balance Sheets
*Global Nutritional Index
Household Consumption &
Expenditure Surveys
Diet Diversity
Household
Waste
Utilization
And
many, Food Secure
FIES
many
more… Temporary
Food Insecure
Stability
Diet Assessment
Individual
Health Stats
Coping
Positive
Coping
Negative
Time
Volatility
Indices
Anthropometry
Biomarkers
Chronic
Food Insecurity
PoU
Vulnerability
“Of So
making
many
Indices
there is
no end....”
why do
we need
another
index???
HowFood
different
are they?as
How
they overlap?
Security
andoexample
at least 9 Household Indices
Coping Strategies Index CSI
Reduced CSI
at least 8 Overall indices
FAO Undernourishment
Global Hunger Index
Household Food Insecurity and
Access Scale
Household Hunger Scale
Food Consumption Score
Global Food Security Index
Poverty & Hunger Index
Hunger Reduction Commitment
Index
Household Dietary Diversity Scale
Self-Assessed Food Security
Household Consumption &
Expenditure Survey
US H-hold FS Surv Mod (HFSSM)
Anthropometric Indices
Dietary Diversity Score
Medical & Biomarker Indicators
Maxwell et al. Tufts Univ, 2013
+ ......
Pangaribowo et al : Foodsecure, 2013
… Stability is not covered by any of them
Availability
Accessibility
Are all 4 elements of Food Security equal,
or are some more equal than others...??
Problem of Weightings & Analytic Hierarchy Process
Stability
Utilization
Key:
FAOIU –
GHI
–
GFSI –
PHI
–
HRCI –
AI
–
DDS –
MBI
–
FAO Indicators of Undernourishment
Global Hunger Index
Global Food Security Index
Poverty & Hunger Index
Hunger Reduction Commitment Index
Anthropometric Indicators
Dietary Diversity Score
Medical & Biomarker Indicators
Food and Nutritional Security Indicators: a review. Pangaribowo et al eds, Foodsecure, 2013
The Problem of Weightings (Wt) in FAO Food Security Index
Dimension
AVAILABILITY
Indicator
1 Domain
Av Diet Energy Supply (DES), Av Value of Food Prod
Share of DES from cereals, roots etc
Av Protein Supply, Av Protein Supply of Animal Origin
ACCESS
Wt
0.25
0.04, each
0.06, each
3 Domains
0.25
Physical
(Σ0.8)
% Paved Roads
Road density, Rail- line density
0.02
0.03, each
Economic
Domestic Food Price Index
0.08
Health
Prevalence of Undernourishment
0.08
UTILIZATION
2 Domains
Pub Health (Σ0.10)
Water, Sanitation
0.05, each
Child Anthrop
(Σ0.16)
Stunting, Underweight
Wasting
0.06, each
0.04
STABILITY
2 Domains
Exposure
(Σ0.13)
Shock
(Σ0.13)
∑Wt
0.25
0.25
Cereal Import dependency
% Land equipped irrigation, Food Imp / Σ merchand Exp
0.05
0.04, each
Political Stability, Domestic FPU Volatility
Food Supply Variability
0.04, each
0.05
Some additions to the Proposed Food Security Index FAO
DIMENSIONS
FOOD SECURITY INDICATORS
Average Dietary Energy Supply Adequacy
Average Value of Food Production
Share of dietary energy supply derived from cereals, roots and tubers
Average protein supply
Average supply of protein of animal origin
AVAILABILITY
Availability
Percent of paved roads over total roads
Road density
Rail-lines density
Domestic Food Price Level Index
ACCESS
Access
Sustainability
Sustainability
UTILIZATION
Utilization
Physical
Economic
Prevalence of undernourishment
Share of food expenditure of the poor
Depth of the food deficit
Prevalence of food inadequacy
Access to improved water sources
Access to improved sanitation facilities
Percentage of children under 5 years of age affected by wasting
Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are stunted
Percentage of children under 5 years of age who are underweight
Percent of adults underweight
Outcomes
Stability/
STABILITY
Vulnerability
Cereal import dependency ratio
Percent of arable land equipped for irrigation
Value of food imports over total merchandise exports
Political stability and absence of violence/terrorism
Domestic food price level index volatility
Per Capita food production variability
Per Capita food supply variability
Coping
Utilization
Missing @ level of
Household/ Individ
Food Safety,
Losses & Waste
Utilization
Missing data for
micronutrients
Vulnerable groups,
Pregnancy, HIV,
elderly...
Outcomes
Health Status
Obesity BMI
NCDs, CVD,
Diabetes, Cancer
Food Insecurity
Coping
“All for One and One for All”
FAO Food Security Index – For the Future (1)

Data Collection
 Standardization of Methodology,
 High Frequency to capture seasonality and vulnerability
 GPS and Mobile Phone Technology
 Cost

Choice of Suite of Indicators
 Problem of Weightings and Evolution of the 4 elements of FS
 Appropriate to the Level – National, Household, Individual
and Target Populations
 At-risk groups: early life malnutrition, elderly, HIV, poor..
 To add Losses & Waste, Food Safety, Micronutrients
 Health Outcomes: BMI, NCDs...
 Coping Strategies – Cultural Dependency
 Sustainability
Elliot.Berry @ fao.org; Elliotb @ ekmd.huji.ac.il
“All for One and One for All”
FAO Food Security Index – For the Future (2)
 Data Analysis and Presentation
 Ability to Aggregate & Disaggregate data
 Between Countries (Fixed) and Within countries (Flexible)
 Geo-spatial methodologies
 Monitoring & Evaluation




Validity (corresponds accurately) – problem of ‘gold standard’
Reproducibility (test-retest)
Cross-cultural comparability
Predictive Power
 Conclusion: FAO as the natural, “neutral broker” to lead &
coordinate a comprehensive Food Security Index along the
whole Sustainable Healthy Food System – from Farm to Fork
Elliot.Berry @ fao.org; Elliotb @ ekmd.huji.ac.il
Some Questions for Sustainable Food Security / Systems (SFS)
At National Level
 Under what framework to integrate the many discipline - Agriculture,
Health, Environment – involved in Sustainability?
 How can Bio-Technology / Bio-Fortification help improve Food Security?
 How will external issues affect Food Security – such as a) Globalization; b)
Urbanization; c) Biodiversity; d) Climate change?
 What should be the criteria for incorporating & prioritizing short and longterm SFS in national policies
At Household Level
 How can communication and information technology be used to improve
data collection?
 What strategies can a) Increase and improve food production; b) Facilitate
access ; c) Reduce food losses and waste?
At Individual Level
 How to best assess SFS for different groups – farmers, rural women,
consumers, special needs vulnerable groups?
 Use of Mobile Phones for monitoring Food Security
 How to improve Behaviour change (education) and Coping skills in
culturally sensitive ways?