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      Qualitative exploration of the impact of COVID-19 on the food environment of urban informal settlements of Dhaka, Bangladesh

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          Abstract

          Objective

          Our study explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food environment from the perspective of the urban poor and food vendors.

          Design

          This was a qualitative study conducted during September 2020 and February 2021.

          Setting

          The study was carried out in two purposively selected informal settlements of Dhaka City, Bangladesh.

          Participants

          We conducted 21 in-depth interviews with residents of informal settlements and 10 key informant interviews with food vendors and food aid workers.

          Result

          The availability of staple foods was not disrupted during the pandemic but some perishables foods became more expensive due to supply chain disruptions and increased transportation costs. Limited market hours affected market access and mobility restrictions adversely affected local vendors. Cart vendors selling perishables incurred business losses they could ill afford. Demand for food reduced as employment disruption lead to reduced purchasing power and, therefore, reduction of quantity, quality and desirability of foods purchased. Respondents reported skipping meals and going hungry. The aid received was considered inadequate to meet needs.

          Conclusion

          The food environment of the urban poor was disrupted from both supply and demand sides and the organisational response (both government and non-government) was severely inadequate. The social safety net needs to be extended and redesigned to ensure food security and health for the urban working poor in the future.

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          Most cited references51

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          Using thematic analysis in psychology

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            Naturalistic inquiry

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              Immediate impact of stay-at-home orders to control COVID-19 transmission on socioeconomic conditions, food insecurity, mental health, and intimate partner violence in Bangladeshi women and their families: an interrupted time series

              Summary Background Stay-at-home orders (lockdowns) have been deployed globally to control COVID-19 transmission, and might impair economic conditions and mental health, and exacerbate risk of food insecurity and intimate partner violence. The effect of lockdowns in low-income and middle-income countries must be understood to ensure safe deployment of these interventions in less affluent settings. We aimed to determine the immediate impact of COVID-19 lockdown orders on women and their families in rural Bangladesh. Methods An interrupted time series was used to compare data collected from families in Rupganj upazila, rural Bangladesh (randomly selected from participants in a randomised controlled trial), on income, food security, and mental health a median of 1 year and 2 years before the COVID-19 pandemic to data collected during the lockdown. We also assessed women's experiences of intimate partner violence during the pandemic. Results Between May 19 and June 18, 2020, we randomly selected and invited the mothers of 3016 children to participate in the study, 2424 of whom provided consent. 2414 (99·9%, 95% CI 99·6–99·9) of 2417 mothers were aware of, and adhering to, the stay-at-home advice. 2321 (96·0%, 95·2–96·7) of 2417 mothers reported a reduction in paid work for the family. Median monthly family income fell from US$212 at baseline to $59 during lockdown, and the proportion of families earning less than $1·90 per day rose from five (0·2%, 0·0–0·5) of 2422 to 992 (47·3%, 45·2–49·5) of 2096 (p<0·0001 comparing baseline with lockdown period). Before the pandemic, 136 (5·6%, 4·7–6·6) of 2420 and 65 (2·7%, 2·1–3·4) of 2420 families experienced moderate and severe food insecurity, respectively. This increased to 881 (36·5%, 34·5–38·4) of 2417 and 371 (15·3%, 13·9–16·8) of 2417 during the lockdown; the number of families experiencing any level of food insecurity increased by 51·7% (48·1–55·4; p<0·0001). Mothers' depression and anxiety symptoms increased during the lockdown. Among women experiencing emotional or moderate physical violence, over half reported it had increased since the lockdown. Interpretation COVID-19 lockdowns present significant economic, psychosocial, and physical risks to the wellbeing of women and their families across economic strata in rural Bangladesh. Beyond supporting only the most socioeconomically deprived, support is needed for all affected families. Funding National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                BMJ Open
                BMJ Open
                bmjopen
                bmjopen
                BMJ Open
                BMJ Publishing Group (BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JR )
                2044-6055
                2023
                1 August 2023
                1 August 2023
                : 13
                : 8
                : e067652
                Affiliations
                [1 ]departmentHealth Systems and Population Studies Division , Ringgold_56291International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research , Dhaka, Bangladesh
                [2 ]Fragments Magazine , Dhaka, Bangladesh
                Author notes
                [Correspondence to ] Dr Sabrina Rasheed; sabrina1@ 123456icddrb.org
                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5464-8687
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6546-9120
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7444-200X
                Article
                bmjopen-2022-067652
                10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067652
                10394537
                37527892
                cd1928c8-ef26-459c-81b8-fb063af2302a
                © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

                This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

                History
                : 20 August 2022
                : 24 July 2023
                Funding
                Funded by: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency;
                Award ID: GR-01455
                Categories
                Public Health
                1506
                2474
                1724
                Original research
                Custom metadata
                unlocked
                free

                Medicine
                nutrition & dietetics,covid-19,public health,qualitative research
                Medicine
                nutrition & dietetics, covid-19, public health, qualitative research

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