Chapter 3


In recent years a number of countries have experimented with vulnerability mapping. This is
a process whereby existing information on income, food insecurity, malnutrition, teenage
pregnancy, low birth weight babies etc. is disaggregated by geographical location and
sometimes socio-economic category, to identify those groups of the population who have
multiple risk factors. This can then be used as a basis for more closely targeted monitoring,
as well providing the information on which to base economic and social support
programmes.

The causes of food insecurity at the household level tend to be complex and to vary by
location and socio-economic grouping. This means that the analyst faces a major challenge
to present information to decision makers in a way which allows them to understand the
issues without misleading simplification. It is much easier to understand the message
delivered by early warning systems, which usually can be simplified into the need for more
imports. The message at the household level is much more complex. One of the problems of
household monitoring systems up until now, has been the difficulty in translating
information into action. Until the usefulness of this type of data collection can be clearly
shown, it will be difficult to raise the finance to develop these systems more fully. Yet until
an effective methodology for household level monitoring is developed, food security
information systems will continue to emphasise availability of food at the expense of access
to existing food supplies.


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