Association Between Household Food Insecurity (Access) Scores, Poverty Indicators and Child Malnutrition in Botswana

Abstract

In Botswana the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) has been used in studying the urban-poor, but less in rural settings high in poverty, child malnutrition (CM), and social protection beneficiaries. This cross-sectional study compared HFIAS scores, household poverty (HP) and CM in two rural districts: Bobirwa with moderate and Mabutsane with high poverty. Households (n = 872) with children under-five years participated. Most children (87.6%) experienced food insecurity. Mean HFIAS for all households was 11.0 ± 8. HFIAS scores were higher in Mabutsane (p