Urban Household Survival and Resilience to Food Insecurity in Crisis Conditions: The Case of Epworth in Harare, Zimbabwe

• Published in: Journal of hunger & environmental nutrition 2012-04, Vol.7 (2-3), p.293-320
• Main Author: Tawodzera, Godfrey
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: coping strategies; food security; households; income; resilience; urban areas; urban food security
• ISSN: 1932-0256; 1932-0248; 1932-0256
• DOI: 10.1080/19320248.2012.702469

Much of the contemporary literature on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa has focused on the rural sector, with limited attention to urban areas whose inhabitants are equally vulnerable. Thus, little is known about how poor households deal with food insecurity under conditions of economic adversity and material deprivation in the urban environment. This article examines the strategies that poor urban households adopt to enhance their resilience in the face of food insecurity. Study results indicate that the resilience of poor urban households to food insecurity during a crisis situation such as that besetting Harare depends largely on 3 main factors: first, the resourcefulness of households in eking out a living through multiple income-generating activities; second, the existence of strong social links to rural households, which increases access to rural resources for urban survival; and third, the use of international remittances to increase household food security. In conclusion, the article argues that in a crisis situation such as that in Zimbabwe, survival largely depends on the ability of households to engage in multiple as well as multispatial activities that not only increase income sources but also reduce household expenses.