Introduction
This Food Security Brief is a starting point for anyone seeking a deep understanding of the range of factors influencing food security in Zimbabwe. It draws on decades of FEWS NET data and information on livelihoods, household vulnerability, nutrition, trade, and agro-climatology, as well as an array of other sources. It provides an overview of the food security context, the main determinants of chronic and acute food insecurity, and areas at most risk of food insecurity.
The brief is organized around the FEWS NET Household Livelihoods Analytical Framework (Figure 1), which looks at underlying and proximate causes of food insecurity as a means to anticipate outcomes at regional and household levels. FEWS NET’s approach integrates aspects of the Disaster Risk Reduction Framework, the Four Pillars of Food Security, and the UNICEF nutritional framework.
At the core of this analysis is an understanding of livelihoods—that is, the means by which households obtain and maintain access to essentials such as food, water, shelter, clothing, health care, and education—both in good years and in bad. Using the Household Economy Approach, or HEA, FEWS NET brings a livelihoods perspective to its analysis of household vulnerability to shocks and coping capacity.