Page 96 - IJPS-10-2

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Examining the effect of demographic and

socioeconomic factors on household food
insecurity in Lideta subcity, Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia

Ephrem Tadesse Goda *, Terefe Degefa Boshera , and Mengistu Ketema Aredo 2
1
1
1 Center for Population Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia
2 Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute: Ethiopian Economic Association, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia

Abstract
Food security and vulnerability assessments in Ethiopia have traditionally focused
on rural regions. In contemporary policy discussions, urban food security has
garnered significant attention. Notably, there is a lack of empirical substantiation
of urban food security and its impact on the livelihoods of city dwellers as they
grapple with escalating food prices. The present study aims to determine the
*Corresponding author: extent of household food insecurity and identify correlated factors among 692
Ephrem Tadesse Goda households in three randomly selected Woredas (districts) within Lideta sub-city,
(ephr15@yahoo.com)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Six Ketenas (villages) were selected using a probability
Citation: Goda, E.T., Boshera, T.D. proportional-to-size technique from three Woredas between February and
& Aredo, M.K. (2024). Examining
the effect of demographic and March of 2023. Data were collected through a validated survey administered
socioeconomic factors on by trained individuals, and household income and expenditure were used to
household food insecurity in Lideta measure food insecurity access. Chi-square (χ ) and logistic regressions were
2
subcity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. used to identify factors associated with food insecurity in the region. The overall
International Journal of Population
Studies, 10(2):90-102. prevalence of household food insecurity in the study area was found to be 66.5%.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1060 Regression results indicate that seven of the hypothesized nine demographic
Received: June 8, 2023 and socioeconomic determinants of household food insecurity significantly
influence the probability of experiencing food insecurity (p < 0.05). Household
Accepted: September 14, 2023
food expenditure, household dependency ratio, age, sex, educational status of
Published Online: October 27, the household head, access to savings and credit, and the urban productive safety
2023 net program were identified as significant determinants of urban household food
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). insecurity. This study underscores that food insecurity in Ethiopia is not limited to
This is an Open-Access article rural areas but also affects urban regions, mainly due to high urban poverty rates.
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Strategies to reduce household size, improve the household dependency ratio,
License, permitting distribution, and enhance socioeconomic factors can empower households to build resilience
and reproduction in any medium, against food insecurity. Policymakers should adopt measures to stabilize the food
provided the original work is
properly cited. insecurity improve living standards, and enhance the economic capabilities of
urban households.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Keywords: Factors; Food insecurity; Household; Lideta Sub City; Ethiopia
affiliations.

Volume 10 Issue 2 (2024) 90 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1060