Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition

Years after the initial settlement, food aid remains an essential component of humanitarian assistance for protracted refugees in managed camps. From data collected among refugee households in three camps in southern Chad and an exogenous variation of time between the latest food distribution and ho...

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Main Authors: Aubery, F., Buisson, Marie-Charlotte
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149327
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author Aubery, F.
Buisson, Marie-Charlotte
author_browse Aubery, F.
Buisson, Marie-Charlotte
author_facet Aubery, F.
Buisson, Marie-Charlotte
author_sort Aubery, F.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Years after the initial settlement, food aid remains an essential component of humanitarian assistance for protracted refugees in managed camps. From data collected among refugee households in three camps in southern Chad and an exogenous variation of time between the latest food distribution and households’ interviews, we draw the time path of household’s consumption. Consistent with the literature on intertemporal choices in high-income countries, refugee households experience an average decline of 1.1 to 1.5 percent per day in their daily caloric intake between distributions. The short-term nutritional status of children under five also responds to the distance from food aid distribution and confirms the existence of food distribution cycles. Our results suggest that households don’t smooth consumption during the interval of time between two distributions, and face regular and frequent cycles of food shortage resulting in detrimental consequences on children’s health.
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spelling CGSpace1493272025-10-26T12:50:57Z Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition Aubery, F. Buisson, Marie-Charlotte refugee camps food consumption distribution consumption patterns undernutrition malnutrition caloric intake children food aid households Years after the initial settlement, food aid remains an essential component of humanitarian assistance for protracted refugees in managed camps. From data collected among refugee households in three camps in southern Chad and an exogenous variation of time between the latest food distribution and households’ interviews, we draw the time path of household’s consumption. Consistent with the literature on intertemporal choices in high-income countries, refugee households experience an average decline of 1.1 to 1.5 percent per day in their daily caloric intake between distributions. The short-term nutritional status of children under five also responds to the distance from food aid distribution and confirms the existence of food distribution cycles. Our results suggest that households don’t smooth consumption during the interval of time between two distributions, and face regular and frequent cycles of food shortage resulting in detrimental consequences on children’s health. 2024-10 2024-07-31T10:03:57Z 2024-07-31T10:03:57Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149327 en Open Access Elsevier Aubery, F.; Buisson, Marie-Charlotte. 2024. Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition. Food Policy, 128:102666. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102666]
spellingShingle refugee camps
food consumption
distribution
consumption patterns
undernutrition
malnutrition
caloric intake
children
food aid
households
Aubery, F.
Buisson, Marie-Charlotte
Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition
title Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition
title_full Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition
title_fullStr Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition
title_full_unstemmed Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition
title_short Making ends meet in refugee camps: food distribution cycles, consumption and undernutrition
title_sort making ends meet in refugee camps food distribution cycles consumption and undernutrition
topic refugee camps
food consumption
distribution
consumption patterns
undernutrition
malnutrition
caloric intake
children
food aid
households
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149327
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