Uzondu Charles^1,, Ogazi Josephine¹, Orame Ngozi¹, Okoye Chidimma¹, Igbokwe Charles¹

Nigeria with its large population and huge oil resources remains a rural agrarian economy. Food insecurity is high as seventy percent of the population live on less than one hundred Naira, N100 (US$ 0.70) per day. The South East Nigeria has high rate of HIV/AIDS and vulnerable households leading to hunger and poverty. The study evaluated food security status of orphans and vulnerable households and factors that enable food insecurity in South East Nigeria. A cross-sectional study employing qualitative and quantitative methods and fourteen focus group discussions were used to obtain views from three thousand two hundred respondents. The FGD data were manually analyzed while quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Household hunger scale was used to determine the food security status of the households. Results: Nearly all the households (Anambra=96%, Imo=94.4%), did not provide enough food for the household needs. Sixteen percent of households in Anambra and 27 % in Imo could afford only one cooked meal in a day. The household hunger scale showed there was sever hunger in 35% of Imo households and 24% Anambra households. Findings from the FGD revealed that determinants of food insecurity in the region included weak supply side and high demand for food because of increased population; rural poverty; shortage of farmlands; food export to cities; high cost of food at the community level; over dependence on traditional, not mechanized farming; fast urbanization; HIV/AIDS, chronic illnesses and cultural norms which deny women and widows of land ownership. Conclusion: High food insecurity rate was found among the surveyed households in both states. There was a strong relationship between the socio-demographic variables and the food insecurity status in the households. Overall, the food supply side is weak, while the demand far outstretches the supply.

orphans, vulnerable children, food insecurity, south east