Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jul 17:11:1142550.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1142550. eCollection 2023.

Food insecurity in Piura, Peru, in the context of post-earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic

Mario J Valladares-Garrido  1   2 , Luis E Zapata-Castro  3 , Abigaíl García-Vicente  3 , Darwin A León-Figueroa  4   5 , Yanela Huamani-Colquichagua  6 , Mariana Huaman-Garcia  1 , Raul E Calle-Preciado  3 , Danai Valladares-Garrido  1   7 , Cristian Díaz-Vélez  8   9 , Virgilio E Failoc-Rojas  10 , Víctor J Vera-Ponce  11   12 , César Johan Pereira-Victorio  13
Affiliations

Food insecurity in Piura, Peru, in the context of post-earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic

Mario J Valladares-Garrido et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Piura, located in a seismic zone, faces challenges related to food security. The aim of this study was to analyze aspects related to food insecurity in the region following the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that occurred in 2021, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A secondary analysis was performed in 177 people exposed to the earthquake in Piura. Food insecurity was assessed with the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Its association with insomnia, resilience, anxiety/depressive symptoms, and general variables were determined using generalized linear models.

Results: Food insecurity was observed in 31.1% (95% CI: 24.3-38.4) of participants. This prevalence was higher in people with mild (PR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.12-2.70) and moderate (PR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.09-2.22) anxiety symptoms, severe depressive symptoms (PR: 2.74, 95% CI: 1.24-6.03), and previous exposure to the El Niño Phenomenon (PR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.06-2.81). An income higher than 5000 Peruvian soles (approximately 1300 US dollars) was associated with a lower prevalence of food insecurity (PR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.13-0.40).

Conclusions: Overall, three out of 10 individuals experienced food insecurity after the 2021 earthquake in Piura. Food insecurity may be aggravated by mental disorders, previous exposure to the El Niño phenomenon, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study contributes to the field by exploring a range of variables related to food insecurity in a unique context: post-earthquake and during the COVID-19 health emergency in Peru. These findings enhance our understanding of food insecurity at the regional level and highlight the need for preventive food security programs in seismic events.

Keywords: COVID-19; Peru; earthquake; food insecurity; food supply; hunger; poverty.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of responses from the HFIAS questionnaire.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of the factors associated with food insecurity in multiple regression analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hidalgo J, Baez AA. Natural disasters. Crit Care Clin. (2019) 35:591–607. 10.1016/j.ccc.2019.05.001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Goryoda S, Nishi N, Shimoda H, Yonekura Y, Sakata K, Kobayashi S, et al. Social capital and dietary intakes following the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and Tsunami. J Epidemiol. (2019) 29:92–6. 10.2188/jea.JE20170117 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hutson RA, Trzcinski E, Kolbe AR. Features of child food insecurity after the 2010 Haiti earthquake: results from longitudinal random survey of households. PLOS ONE. (2014) 9:e104497. 10.1371/journal.pone.0104497 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Heckert J, Boatemaa S, Altman CE. Migrant youth's emerging dietary patterns in Haiti: the role of peer social engagement. Public Health Nutr. (2015) 18:1262–71. 10.1017/S1368980014001372 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Herrera-Fontana ME, Chisaguano AM, Villagomez V, Pozo L, Villar M, Castro N, et al. Food insecurity and malnutrition in vulnerable households with children under 5 years on the Ecuadorian coast: a post-earthquake analysis. Rural Remote Health. (2020) 20:5237. 10.22605/RRH5237 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types