Food Security of Protracted Refugees: A Chronic Global Crisis

Background and Objectives: While, the zero-hunger goal set by the sustainable development goals of the United Nations by 2030, there are many at-risk populations for food insecurity including refugees. Despite the efforts of international institutions and host countries, refugees and asylum seekers struggle to meet their basic needs throughout their displacement. Among all needs, food is one of the basics of livelihood and social determinant of health. The objectives of this multi-national and multi-disciplinary study are twofold. First to evaluate the prevalence of household food insecurity of protracted Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers under different refugee resolution models: reintegration, resettlement, and asylum-seekers camp setting. Second, to identify the region-specific barriers and facilitators toward their food security.Methodology: 730 refugee families from five regions of the world, including Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Pakistan, and Iran participated in the study. Australia and Canada were set as the selected sites for resettlement model, Iran and Pakistan were the reintegration sites. The asylum-seekers’ camps in Switzerland were selected as the setting for the asylum-seekers in the project. Under the framework of the socioecological model, we used explanatory mixed methods design. Within the quantitative section of the study, a standard socio-demographic tool from the Canadian Community Health Survey and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food security questionnaire were used. To address the second objective, we conducted a series of in-depth interviews with semi-structured questions.Results: We found a high prevalence of food insecurity among families due to economic, social, and cultural barriers:In Canada and Australia as resettlement countries, more than 85% of the refugee families suffered from food insecurity in Canada and 83% were food insecure in Australia. In Iran and Pakistan (reintegration and point of entry during the refugee influx), 99% and 82% families were food insecure respectively. In Switzerland (n=24): Secondary destination and campsite for asylum seekers. 73.6 % of asylum seekers were food insecure with the majority moderately food insecure (36.8%).The barriers toward food security under reintegration and resettlement setting were different. While the culturally accepted food was one of the main concerns in resettlement regions (Canada, Australia, Switzerland), the cultural proximity in reintegration regions (Iran and Pakistan) did not offset the financial barriers toward food security. Refugees in reintegration regions, Iran and Pakistan, were mostly fallen under severe food insecurity level and hunger (65% in Iran and 44% in Pakistan), in resettlement regions (Canada and Australia), the majority were under moderate food insecurity (59% in Canada and 37% in Australia). Cultural differences, unemployment or underemployment, lack of social interaction, and language barriers, were indicated as the main post migration challenges. Financial struggle, lack of access to culturally accepted food, and lack of knowledge in food utilization came up as the main themes in food security related interview questions. Emerging common themes from the family in-depth interviews showed a lack of financial and residency stability, information and resources associated with health services and food literacy, cross-cultural training, and food utilization skills.Discussion and conclusion: While a considerable number of refugee households and children were suffering from severe food insecurity and hunger in both reintegration regions, the resettled refugees in the three countries in this study were mostly moderately food insecurity. Social, financial, and cultural capacities varied in different settings. These differences warrant identifying local problem-solving policies based on the available capacities in each region. The collaborative approach between the world aid organizations, governments, and community-based organizations who involved in refugee influx is essential. Finally, policies that address the food insecurity crisis beyond the initial influx time and consideration for protracted refugee situation need to be adopted. Our findings warrant further investigation in a larger sample of key informants, aid organizations, and policymakers to determine possible solutions toward the food insecurity of protracted refugees and asylum seekers. This includes clarification of the role of stakeholders at the local, national, and international level who are involved in providing services, as well as the level of coordination and collaboration among them. Support or Funding Information Funding for this project is provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) under the initiative of Culture, Migration, and Food Security (CMF) international research group led by Dr. H Vatanparast.