THE DIMINISHING WEALTH: THE CASE OF NYAMASARIA WETLANDS IN KISUMU TOWN

Abstract

Although household food security may not capture all dimensions of food such as availability, access and utilisation; inability of households to put enough and quality food on the table is a manifestation of bad food security policies in place. Food security reflects the state of productive health and is an important indication of the household level of poverty. This paper examines appropriate issues that affect household food security and nutrition. The purpose is to identify the nature of food insecurity, assess the severity of the situation, monitor changes over time, and assess the impact of interventions. The risks that can disrupt food availability, food access and utilisation such as HIV\AIDS, urbanisation, food aid assurance and social-cultural variables are examined. The paper further outlines the issues that impinge on the food situation with reference to some of the African countries. The purpose is to sensitise food policy makers about value of assessment of the effectiveness of local and national measures put in place to address household food security vis-a-vis national status