COVID-19 impacts on household energy & food security in a Kenyan informal settlement: The need for integrated approaches to the SDGs. (July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shupler, Matthew; Mwitari, James; Gohole, Arthur; Anderson de Cuevas, Rachel; Puzzolo, Elisa; Čukić, Iva; Nix, Emily; Pope, Daniel
• Is Part Of: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews. Volume 144(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-07
• Subjects: Clean cooking fuels -- Liquefied petroleum gas -- COVID-19 -- Food security -- Energy security -- Pay-as-you-go -- Informal urban settlement; Renewable energy sources -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Periodicals; Énergies renouvelables -- Périodiques; Ressources énergétiques -- Périodiques; 333.794
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.111018
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1364-0321

Abstract

Abstract: This longitudinal study presents the joint effects of a COVID-19 community lockdown on household energy and food security in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Randomly administered surveys were completed from December 2019–March 2020 before community lockdown (n = 474) and repeated in April 2020 during lockdown (n = 194). Nearly universal (95%) income decline occurred during the lockdown and led to 88% of households reporting food insecurity. During lockdown, a quarter of households (n = 17) using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a cleaner cooking fuel typically available in pre-set quantities (e.g. 6 kg cylinders), switched to polluting cooking fuels (kerosene, wood), which could be purchased in smaller amounts or gathered for free. Household size increases during lockdown also led to participants' altering their cooking fuel, and changing their cooking behaviors and foods consumed. Further, households more likely to switch away from LPG had lower consumption prior to lockdown and had suffered greater income loss, compared with households that continued to use LPG. Thus, inequities in clean cooking fuel access may have been exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdown. These findings demonstrate the complex relationship between household demographics, financial strain, diet and cooking patterns, and present the opportunity for a food-energy nexus approach to address multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): achieving zero hunger (SDG 2) and universal affordable, modern and clean energy access (SDG 7) by 2030. Ensuring that LPG is affordable, accessible and meets the dietary and cooking needs of families should be a policy priority for helping improve food and energy security among the urban poor. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: One quarter of informal urban settlement households using LPG switched their cooking fuel to wood or kerosene during COVID-19 lockdown. Nine in ten households reported income decline/cessation and food insecurity as a result of lockdown. Dietary changes were 40% more prevalent among households switching their cooking fuel during lockdown (85%) than those not (46%). Increases in cooking fuel prices and changes in cooking frequency and dietary patterns were observed during lockdown. Inequalities in clean cooking access may be deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic.