COVID-19’s Impact on Food Security Among Refugees in Uganda

Sammanfattning: Uganda’s development-based refugee model is widely recognised as the most progressive in the world by the international community. The model has however come under solid pressure owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and food insecurity among refugees in the country has become a major problem. This study examines how the pandemic has affected urban and settlement-based refugees’ food security with a particular focus on the refugees living in the capital city Kampala and in the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement and explores how refugees in the different settings have coped with the lack of food. A qualitative, comparative case-oriented research design is used for this purpose and a conceptual framework based on the four dimensions of food security and the Livelihood and Food Security Framework is used to guide the study. Two main methods of inquiry are employed. Firstly, a systematic literature review is carried out to identify and select the most relevant studies on the topic, and these are analysed and synthesised through a structured thematic synthesis. Secondly, semi-structured interviews with key informants who are present in Kampala and Bidibidi are conducted to gather up-to- date information specifically about the food security situations in the two study sites, and the interviews are transcribed and analysed through a thematic analysis. It is found that the pandemic has changed the lives of the refugees in both Kampala and Bidibidi significantly and that their food security has deteriorated substantially. A considerable proportion of the refugees are acutely malnourished and immediate support is needed if the food insecurity situation is not to deteriorate further. The main cause of the high level of food insecurity in Kampala has been the loss of livelihood due to the lockdown, which have entailed that Kampala-based refugees have not been able to access food even though it has been available on the market all the time. In Bidibidi, the main cause of food insecurity is related to food assistance ration cuts and the lack of available food. While the situation is improving in Kampala since the lockdown has been eased, the situation is still critical in Bidibidi. The refugees in both study sites have generally applied negative coping strategies such as skipping meals and selling productive assets to cope with the COVID-19-induced shortfalls in food for consumption.