Table 4.
Characteristics of food security interventions delivered by INGOs and UN agencies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries from 31 December 2019 to 31 May 2020 (n = 287).
| INGO a | UN Agency b | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency (n = 138) |
Percentage (%) |
Frequency (n = 149) |
Percentage (%) |
Frequency (n = 287) |
Percentage (%) |
|
| Scale | ||||||
| community | 32 | 23.19% | 23 | 15.44% | 55 | 19.16% |
| regional | 45 | 32.61% | 42 | 28.19% | 87 | 30.31% |
| national | 18 | 13.04% | 21 | 14.09% | 39 | 13.59% |
| undefined | 43 | 31.16% | 63 | 42.28% | 106 | 36.93% |
| Program type c | ||||||
| distributing food aid | 103 | 74.64% | 68 | 45.64% | 171 | 59.58% |
| providing cash transfer | 20 | 14.49% | 42 | 28.19% | 62 | 21.60% |
| nutrition program | 9 | 6.52% | 27 | 18.12% | 36 | 12.54% |
| implementing feeding programs | 14 | 10.14% | 13 | 8.72% | 27 | 9.41% |
| monitoring, technical, and policy support | 3 | 2.17% | 21 | 14.09% | 24 | 8.36% |
| supporting local food production | 12 | 8.70% | 9 | 6.04% | 21 | 7.32% |
| supporting food supply chain | 4 | 2.90% | 9 | 6.04% | 13 | 4.53% |
| providing food voucher | 7 | 5.07% | 3 | 2.01% | 10 | 3.48% |
| livelihood and income generation | 5 | 3.62% | 5 | 3.36% | 10 | 3.48% |
| prepositioning and procuring | 0 | 0.00% | 5 | 3.36% | 5 | 1.74% |
| food safety | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 2.01% | 3 | 1.05% |
| other | 12 | 8.70% | 3 | 2.01% | 15 | 5.23% |
| undefined | 1 | 0.72% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.35% |
| Pillar of food security c | ||||||
| availability d | 119 | 86.23% | 85 | 57.05% | 204 | 71.08% |
| distribution | 110 | 92.44% | 78 | 91.76% | 188 | 92.16% |
| production | 12 | 10.08% | 10 | 11.76% | 22 | 10.78% |
| exchange | 1 | 0.84% | 7 | 8.24% | 8 | 3.92% |
| access d | 31 | 22.46% | 52 | 34.90% | 83 | 28.92% |
| affordability | 27 | 87.10% | 46 | 88.46% | 73 | 87.95% |
| allocation | 4 | 12.90% | 6 | 11.54% | 10 | 13.70% |
| preference | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 1.92% | 1 | 10.00% |
| utilization d | 18 | 13.04% | 38 | 25.50% | 56 | 19.51% |
| nutritional value | 12 | 66.67% | 32 | 84.21% | 44 | 78.57% |
| preparation and consumption | 5 | 27.78% | 3 | 7.89% | 8 | 14.29% |
| food safety | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 7.89% | 3 | 5.36% |
| cultural acceptability | 2 | 11.11% | 1 | 2.63% | 3 | 5.36% |
| health status | 1 | 5.56% | 1 | 2.63% | 2 | 3.57% |
| stability d | 12 | 8.70% | 15 | 10.07% | 27 | 9.41% |
| stable supply | 7 | 58.33% | 11 | 73.33% | 18 | 66.67% |
| environmental stability | 5 | 41.67% | 4 | 26.67% | 9 | 33.33% |
a INGO = international non-governmental organization. b UN Agency = United Nations Agency. c Each category was not mutually exclusive. Thus, interventions could have incorporated more than one component listed. d Within each pillar of food security (i.e., availability, access, utilization, and stability), the various components comprising the pillar were calculated as proportions of the number of interventions in the corresponding pillar. For example, approximately 92% of all food availability interventions included food distribution.