Economic Policy and Food Security in Ethiopia

Johnston, Deborah; Walls, Helen

Abstract

Ethiopia has an integrated approach to addressing nutrition. However, greater clarity is needed on the wider impact of policy on food and nutrition. We focus on the interrelationship between economic policy and nutrition policy (defined as including all food- and nutrition-relevant policy). While Ethiopia’s policy has had notable successes, particularly with addressing stunting, two key challenges remain. First, some indicators such as wasting and anaemia in children under five have shown far less improvement. Second, the bottom quintile of children has seen far more limited general improvement than the population as a whole. We argue that the focus of government policy needs to shift from food availability to broader issues of food acquisition and particularly food affordability, which is mediated through food prices and waged employment. Of particular concern is the rising price of animal-source products and other non-staple foods, which may be related to the challenges of addressing some nutritional indicators.

Citation

Johnston, D., & Walls, H. (2019). Economic Policy and Food Security in Ethiopia. In F. Cheru, C. Cramer, & A. Oqubay (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Ethiopian Economy (383-398). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198814986.013.20

• Online Publication Date: Feb 1, 2019
• Publication Date: Jan 17, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jan 3, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 3, 2019
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 383-398
• Book Title: The Oxford Handbook of the Ethiopian Economy
• ISBN: 9780198814986
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198814986.013.20
• Keywords: Ethiopia, nutrition, nutrition security, food security, nutrition policy, food policy, food environments, food price, diet quality, dietary diversity