Meals under tents: experiences of food insecurity among the displaced people of southern Philippines

Abstract

The article examines food conditions among Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the southern Philippines. This aims to highlight the experience of food availability, accessibility and utilization as significant components of the household food security concept among people who lost their communities and sources of income due to war. The study also explores the consequences of food insecurity or hardship to the lives of the family members. Key informant interviews (KII) were conducted among 10 household heads to gather the qualitative data and quantitative data was provided by 306 respondents to the survey questionnaire. Both results reflect poor food security status, requiring coping strategies and affecting familial dynamics among other things. The study reechoes earlier findings that internal displacement predicts not only household food insecurity but also decreased mental well-being and reduced personal motivation. Mindful of these facts, a considerable range of services and assistance must be extended to the IDPs including food, livelihood, and psychological interventions. The study ultimately hopes to put pressure on the state legislature of the Philippines for the immediate enactment of specific law that protects Filipino IDPs.

Keywords: Internal displacement; Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs); coping strategies; household food security; tent-living IDPs.