Assessing the affordability of a balanced diet in sub-Saharan Africa

the population growth in sub-Saharan Africa, global crises, and disruptions to sustainable supply chains create new obstacles to achieving food sovereignty in the region. To assess the scale of the food problem, the tools of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are mainly used as a key platform for combating hunger. The main indicator of the level of hunger in a country or region is the prevalence of malnutrition. However, this indicator reflects the actual presence or absence of access to food, and does not take into account the quality of nutrition. To assess this factor, the author formulates an index of economic accessibility of a balanced diet and calculates it for sub-Saharan African countries based on data on the actual consumption of key food groups by the population of these countries. The article focuses on a comprehensive examination of sub-Saharan African countries, taking into account their economic characteristics, and divides these countries into four groups depending on the prevalence of malnutrition. The index of economic accessibility of a balanced diet is compared with the prevalence of malnutrition, agricultural parameters of African countries and volumes of food production. An explanation is offered why the index of economic accessibility of a balanced diet takes a certain value in the respective country. The author comes to the conclusion that the index of economic accessibility of a balanced diet complements the prevalence of malnutrition and allows for a more complete analysis of the food situation in a particular country or region.

economic access to food, index of economic access to a balanced diet, sub-Saharan Africa, food security