IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v68y2009i4p758-765.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Saving lives, preserving livelihoods: Understanding risk, decision-making and child health in a food crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Hampshire, Katherine Rebecca
  • Panter-Brick, Catherine
  • Kilpatrick, Kate
  • Casiday, Rachel E.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse household decision-making regarding resource allocation in the aftermath of a food crisis in rural Niger. International attention had resulted in humanitarian agencies launching emergency nutrition programmes to alleviate persistently high levels of acute child malnutrition. We conducted participant observation, 93 in-depth interviews, 15 focus groups, 44 feeding and illness histories for children under 5, and debriefing sessions with local humanitarian staff. The impetus for this study came from observations of marked intra-household differences in child growth and health status, despite the caregivers' ethos of treating children equally. Egalitarian input, however, does not always result in equal outcomes: vulnerable children become "victims of non-discrimination" through a form of benign neglect engendered by pervasive poverty. The ethos and practices of equal investment in children are rooted in a need to balance the perceived risks to children with the preservation of long-term livelihoods. We discuss the mismatch of views between external interventions, which focus on saving individual children's lives, and local priorities, aimed at spreading risk. This mismatch is rooted in the different ways in which humanitarian agencies and local communities weigh up risks and vulnerabilities in matters of child health.

Suggested Citation

  • Hampshire, Katherine Rebecca & Panter-Brick, Catherine & Kilpatrick, Kate & Casiday, Rachel E., 2009. "Saving lives, preserving livelihoods: Understanding risk, decision-making and child health in a food crisis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 758-765, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:68:y:2009:i:4:p:758-765
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(08)00601-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Engle, Patrice L. & Nieves, Isabel, 1993. "Intra-household food distribution among Guatemalan families in a supplementary feeding program: Behavior patterns," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 1605-1612, June.
    2. Harkness, Sara & Super, Charles M., 1994. "The developmental niche: A theoretical framework for analyzing the household production of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 217-226, January.
    3. Gittelsohn, Joel & Shankar, Anita V. & West, Keith P. & Faruque, Faisal & Gnywali, Tara & Pradhan, Elizabeth K., 1998. "Child feeding and care behaviors are associated with xerophthalmia in rural Nepalese households," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 477-486, August.
    4. Engle, Patrice L. & Castle, Sarah & Menon, Purnima, 1996. "Child development: Vulnerability and resilience," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 621-635, September.
    5. Hampshire, Kate, 2002. "Networks of nomads: negotiating access to health resources among pastoralist women in Chad," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 54(7), pages 1025-1037, April.
    6. Engle, Patrice L. & Menon, Purnima & Haddad, Lawrence, 1999. "Care and Nutrition: Concepts and Measurement," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 1309-1337, August.
    7. Heaton, Tim B. & Forste, Renata & Hoffmann, John P. & Flake, Dallan, 2005. "Cross-national variation in family influences on child health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 97-108, January.
    8. Messer, Ellen, 1997. "Intra-household allocation of food and health care: Current findings and understandings--Introduction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(11), pages 1675-1684, June.
    9. Millard, Ann V., 1994. "A causal model of high rates of child mortality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 253-268, January.
    10. Howard, Mary, 1994. "Socio-economic causes and cultural explanations of childhood malnutrition among the Chagga of Tanzania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 239-251, January.
    11. Miller, Barbara D., 1997. "Social class, gender and intrahousehold food allocations to children in South Asia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(11), pages 1685-1695, June.
    12. Castle, Sarah E., 1995. "Child fostering and children's nutritional outcomes in rural Mali: The role of female status in directing child transfers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 679-693, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anastasia Marshak & Helen Young & Anne Radday & Elena N. Naumova, 2020. "Sensitivity of Nutrition Indicators to Measure the Impact of a Multi-Sectoral Intervention: Cross-Sectional, Household, and Individual Level Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Rosinger, Asher Y., 2018. "Household water insecurity after a historic flood: Diarrhea and dehydration in the Bolivian Amazon," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 192-202.
    3. Nanama, Siméon & Frongillo, Edward A., 2012. "Altered social cohesion and adverse psychological experiences with chronic food insecurity in the non-market economy and complex households of Burkina Faso," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(3), pages 444-451.
    4. Berman, Nicolas & Rotunno, Lorenzo & Ziparo, Roberta, 2020. "Sweet child of mine: Income, health and inequality," CEPR Discussion Papers 14444, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Onarheim, Kristine Husøy & Sisay, Mitike Molla & Gizaw, Muluken & Moland, Karen Marie & Miljeteig, Ingrid, 2017. "What if the baby doesn't survive? Health-care decision making for ill newborns in Ethiopia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 123-130.
    6. Panter-Brick, Catherine & Eggerman, Mark, 2018. "The field of medical anthropology in Social Science & Medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 233-239.
    7. Kathryn Grace & Ran Wei & Alan T. Murray, 2017. "A spatial analytic framework for assessing and improving food aid distribution in developing countries," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(4), pages 867-880, August.
    8. Nicolas Berman & Lorenzo Rotunno & Roberta Ziparo, 2020. "Sweet child of mine: Parental income, child health and inequality," AMSE Working Papers 2005, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France, revised Dec 2022.
    9. Hadley, Craig & Linzer, Drew A. & Belachew, Tefera & Mariam, Abebe Gebre & Tessema, Fasil & Lindstrom, David, 2011. "Household capacities, vulnerabilities and food insecurity: Shifts in food insecurity in urban and rural Ethiopia during the 2008 food crisis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(10), pages 1534-1542.
    10. Kristine Husøy Onarheim & Karen Marie Moland & Mitike Molla & Ingrid Miljeteig, 2020. "‘I wanted to go, but they said wait’: Mothers’ bargaining power and strategies in care-seeking for ill newborns in Ethiopia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, June.
    11. Richards, Esther & Theobald, Sally & George, Asha & Kim, Julia C. & Rudert, Christiane & Jehan, Kate & Tolhurst, Rachel, 2013. "Going beyond the surface: Gendered intra-household bargaining as a social determinant of child health and nutrition in low and middle income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 24-33.
    12. Foran, Tira & Butler, James R.A. & Williams, Liana J. & Wanjura, Wolf J. & Hall, Andy & Carter, Lucy & Carberry, Peter S., 2014. "Taking Complexity in Food Systems Seriously: An Interdisciplinary Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 85-101.
    13. Piperata, Barbara A. & Schmeer, Kammi K. & Hadley, Craig & Ritchie-Ewing, Genevieve, 2013. "Dietary inequalities of mother–child pairs in the rural Amazon: Evidence of maternal-child buffering?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 183-191.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Richards, Esther & Theobald, Sally & George, Asha & Kim, Julia C. & Rudert, Christiane & Jehan, Kate & Tolhurst, Rachel, 2013. "Going beyond the surface: Gendered intra-household bargaining as a social determinant of child health and nutrition in low and middle income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 24-33.
    2. Engle, Patrice L. & Menon, Purnima & Garrett, James L. & Slack, Alison T., 1997. "Developing a research and action agenda for examining urbanization and caregiving," FCND discussion papers 28, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Darrouzet-Nardi, Amelia F. & Miller, Laurie C. & Joshi, Neena & Mahato, Shubh & Lohani, Mahendra & Rogers, Beatrice L., 2016. "Child dietary quality in rural Nepal: Effectiveness of a community-level development intervention," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 185-197.
    4. Maxfield, Amanda, 2020. "Testing the theoretical similarities between food and water insecurity: Buffering hypothesis and effects on mental wellbeing," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    5. Piperata, Barbara A. & Schmeer, Kammi K. & Hadley, Craig & Ritchie-Ewing, Genevieve, 2013. "Dietary inequalities of mother–child pairs in the rural Amazon: Evidence of maternal-child buffering?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 183-191.
    6. Serra, Renata, 2009. "Child fostering in Africa: When labor and schooling motives may coexist," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 157-170, January.
    7. Engle, Patrice L. & Menon, Purnima & Haddad, Lawrence, 1999. "Care and Nutrition: Concepts and Measurement," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 1309-1337, August.
    8. Mst Asma Khatun & Koji Kotani, 2021. "Intrahousehold food intake inequality by family roles and age groups," Working Papers SDES-2021-15, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Dec 2021.
    9. Ruel, Marie T. & Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Arimond, Mary, 2001. "A multiple-method approach to studying childcare in an urban environment," FCND discussion papers 116, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Orkhan Sariyev & Tim K. Loos & Manfred Zeller & Tulsi Gurung, 2020. "Women in household decision-making and implications for dietary quality in Bhutan," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Rae Lesser Blumberg & Kara Dewhurst & Soham G. Sen, 2013. "Gender-inclusive Nutrition Activities in South Asia : Volume 2. Lessons from Global Experiences," World Bank Publications - Reports 15980, The World Bank Group.
    12. Armand Mboutchouang K. & Cédric Foyet K. & Cédrick Kalemasi M., 2023. "Child fostering and health nutritional outcomes of under-five: Evidence from Cameroon," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/008, African Governance and Development Institute..
    13. Aoun, Nael & Matsuda, Hirotaka & Sekiyama, Makiko, 2015. "Geographical accessibility to healthcare and malnutrition in Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 135-145.
    14. Smith, Lisa C., 1998. "Can FAO's measure of chronic undernourishment be strengthened?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 425-445, October.
    15. Lavi, Iris & Katz, Carmit, 2016. "Neglected voices: Lessons from forensic investigation following neglect," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 171-176.
    16. Rao, Nitya & Singh, Chandni & Solomon, Divya & Camfield, Laura & Sidiki, Rahina & Angula, Margaret & Poonacha, Prathigna & Sidibé, Amadou & Lawson, Elaine T., 2020. "Managing risk, changing aspirations and household dynamics: Implications for wellbeing and adaptation in semi-arid Africa and India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    17. Haddad, Lawrence & Bhattarai, Saroj & Immink, Maarten & Kumar, Shubh, 1998. "Estimating the interactions between household food security and preschool diarrhea," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(3-4), pages 241-261, November.
    18. Libois, François & Somville, Vincent, 2018. "Fertility, household size and poverty in Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 311-322.
    19. Christina Robinson, 2013. "Younger Siblings Can Be Good for Your Health: An Examination of Spillover Benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 172-184, June.
    20. Smith, Lisa C. & Haddad, Lawrence James, 1999. "Explaining child malnutrition in developing countries," FCND discussion papers 60, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:68:y:2009:i:4:p:758-765. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.