1. Collecting data from the field: nationwide surveys
WFP/VAM for the CEDAT
‘Data from Conflict-Affected Regions: Filling in the Blanks’ workshop
Brussels 9th June 2011

2. VAM data collection Countrywide: CFSVA Context/area-specific: EFSA
On-going: FSMS, Market monitoring
Defined collaboration: JAM (with UNHCR) and CFSAM (with FAO)
Reports: Global Update, Market Monitor
Information on food security at household level from
Secondary data analysis
Key Informants, community & focus groups
Household questionnaires
Individuals within household

3. Why information is collected
To answer ‘who, where, when and why households are food insecure'.
Focus on household food security
Based on conceptual framework

4. Food and nutrition security conceptual framework
Nutrition Status
Mortality
Food
Utilization
Individual Food Intake
Health Status /
Disease
Immediate Causes
Food Availability (Production,
Imports,
Market, Functioning)
Access to Basic Services and Infrastructure
Political, Economical, Institutional, Security, Social, Cultural, Gender Environment
Agro-ecological Conditions
E X P O S U R E T O S H O C K S A N D R I S K S
Household Food
Access
Health and
Hygiene
Conditions
Care Practices
Livelihood
Outcomes
Underlying Causes
HH Food Production, Gifts, Exchange, Cash Earnings, Loans, Savings, Transfers
Livelihood
Strategies
Natural Physical Human Financial Social Capital
Livelihood
Assets 4
Basic Causes 4

5. What information is collected?
Non-specific to conflicts
For conflict – focus on
displacement, including current living conditions,
shocks/coping
changes in food security as a result of the conflict – compare with baseline.
hh composition & displacement
housing, water & energy
agriculture & livestock
income & assets
expenditure & debts
livelihoods
food sources & consumption
shocks & coping
health & nutrition
Example Kyrgyzstan Osh and Jalalabad

6. Data collection at household level in conflict situation
External Constraints
Insufficient baseline/secondary information
Population estimates, migrating
Sampling – purposive vs representative
Ensuring all population groups represented
Access – security
Administrative boundaries
Chad example – all pop groups – residents, displaced, returnees, refugees – sampling ensures that they are represented and data is representative – 220 hh per strata, 1300 hh in total.
Libya – limited secondary information.

7. Data collection at household level in conflict situation
Internal Constraints
Availability of teams also affected by crisis – especially females
Time limited, logistics not prepared for changes related to security
Understanding conflict-related issues – expertise is in food security

8. Kyrgyzstan 2010: HQ support
Sampling – purposive – based on discussion with KIs
National company to: (i) translate the questionnaires, (ii) identify & train enumerators & supervisors, (iii) collect, enter and clean the data, (iv) produce output tables.
Data were collected on the displacement status, demographics, current accommodation & extent of damage of house, livelihoods (income sources, food sources, main expenditures), ownership of assets, food consumption patterns, coping strategies, assistance received, and priorities.
WFP provided a Plan of Analysis & conducted final data interpretation & analysis.
Comparisons made between current & pre-crisis situation to estimate the impact of the crisis on livelihoods.
Comparisons made between households according to their displacement &hosting status, and degree of food insecurity.
Political clashes in Osh and Jalalabad
Time limitations - purposive sampling approach was applied. The sample included 182 IDP/returnee households, 101 host families, and 120 residents living in areas directly affected by the violence or in areas where IDPs/returnees have moved in.

9. Linking food security and conflict:
Results
Linking food security and conflict:
Full loss of house is a clear criterion associated with food insecurity.
Results not statistically representative of whole of crisis-affected areas.
Combination of household and Key Informant information, direct observations from WFP staff involved in the field work, consistency of results, give confidence that the findings provide a solid representation of the situation of IDPs, host families and residents on the ground.
Food insecure households, especially the severely food insecure, were more likely to report a full destruction of their house.
Before crisis cooking fuel = gas. Post-crisis = dung and wood – environmental impacts.

10. DRC 2005: Independent mission
Main constraint was determining sample size
limited number of days to collect information
number of villages selected could not be respected because of logistic/transport or security problems
in many villages, the entire population had only just recently returned after months of taking refuge in distant forests.
reduced representativity & thus quality of analysis.
No reference/baseline data was available to determine prevalence of acute malnutrition and thus an appropriate sample size – selected 1000 children 40/20 hh/village – based on number children 6-59 months/hh.
Data collection tools included a village questionnaire, a hh questionnaire, a mother and child questionnaire. A triangulation matrix was developed to consolidate qualitative information. Profile of interviewers was researchers or analysts.
Prevailing conditions made data collection very difficult – impact on representativity, reliability of qualitative information, comparability of results.
DRC 2005 EFSA – Katanga, Kivus, Ituri, Maniema
Over two thirds of the households surveyed considered the current situation as a crisis not a normal period. Although armed violence is the most frequent shock throughout the region (and affects the same proportion of inhabitants), villages judged shocks from armed violence to be less severe than socioeconomic shocks. The size of households in eastern DRC is larger now than ever before, having increased from 5,08 members (UNDP/UNOPS, Monographs, 1998) to an average of 7,84 as measured by this study (household size averages over 10 in Maniema). Numbers of orphans (up to 5% of a household) and handicapped (averaging 10% of a household) constantly rising, the dependency ratio has soared.

11. DRC: Findings
Reduced agricultural production - getting to their fields is a dangerous and often life-threatening
Constant theft of goods left families with very few resources in terms of productive assets, food stocks, etc.
Significant increase in the price of food commodities (76%) has forced affected livelihood groups to adopt erosive strategies
Agriculture, livestock herding and fishing are perilous investments for households. Petty trade is a growing livelihood strategy, but it too has major disadvantages in terms of security.
Despite not being representative, the results described the reality of the current situation in the study areas.
The high level of food insecurity is transitory, and directly related to violence.

12. Afghanistan 2001: In-country team
Strategy = Be prepared
Developed understanding of terrain prior to conflict.
Mapped out access routes and potential areas of displacement.
Building scenarios and preparing interventions – eg stock-piling food.

13. 25,000 households, 115 districts, 166 teams
Iraq 2008: Government & WFP
25,000 households, 115 districts, 166 teams
Teams comprised members from each governorate as well as supervisors from stats office and research institute.
WFP supported training, questionnaire design, methodology, data entry, analysis and report writing.

14. Libya 2011: HQ and regional bureau
No immediate access, limited secondary data
Background information collected from web resources.
Actual situation collected from WFP staff & contacts in Libya.
Partnerships with NGOs present for market data.
Food security cluster launched for information sharing.

15. Solutions to constraints
Collaboration with government (research institute, stats office)
Training government staff
National staff, local government staff
Good pre-crisis data collection
Good SDA
Preparedness – predicting what might happen & getting ready for it
Transport – helicopter
Iraq 2008: 25,000 households, 115 districts, 166 teams – members from each governorate as well as supervisors from stats office and research institute.
WFP support questionnaire design, methodology , data entry, analysis and report writing.
WFP’s principal counterpart for this study, Director General of Technical Affairs, COSIT was assassinated in Baghdad in August 2007, just before the planned launch of data collection which was then postponed.
WFP national staff located in Iraq played a critical facilitative bridging and communications role, often at their own personal risk of exposing themselves in a difficult environment, facilitating between WFP staff located in Amman, Jordan and management staff from COSIT, KRSO and NRI.
Afghanistan 2001: developed understanding of terrain prior to conflict. Mapped out access routes and potential areas of displacement – building scenarios and preparing interventions – stock-piling food
Libya – limited pre-crisis information