Increased difficulty accessing food and income change during the COVID-19 pandemic among youth living in the eThekwini district, South Africa

• Published in: Public health nutrition Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 1 - 30
• Main Authors: Jesson, Julie, Zulu, Bongiwe, Closson, Kalysha, Basham, C Andrew, Beksinska, Mags, Dong, Erica, Zharima, Campion, Singh, Rishav, Pakhomova, Tatiana, Dietrich, Janan, Kaida, Angela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 23-05-2024; Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Subjects: Children & youth; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Developing countries; Economics and environment; Empowerment; Food; Food security; Gender-based violence; Grants; Health care; HIV; Households; Human health and pathology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Income; Life Sciences; Mental health; Nutrition; Pandemics; Pediatrics; Public health; Research Paper; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Social change; Social interactions; Social networks; Teenagers; Unemployment; Young adult; Young adults; South Africa; Africa; COVID-19; Developing countries; Food security; Young adult; Income
• ISSN: 1368-9800; 1475-2727; 1475-2727
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980024001174

To estimate the effect of income change on difficulty accessing food since the COVID-19 pandemic for South African youth, and evaluate whether this effect was modified by receiving social grants.
A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted between December 2021 and May 2022. Primary outcome was increased difficulty accessing food since the COVID-19 pandemic. Income change was categorized as "Decreased a lot", "Decreased slightly" and "Unchanged or increased". Multivariable logistic regressions were used, with an interaction term between social grant receipt and income change.
eThekwini district, South Africa.
Youth aged 16-24 years.
Among 1,620 participants, median age was 22 years (IQR 19-24); 861 (53%) were women; 476 (29%) reported increased difficulty accessing food; 297 (18%) reported that income decreased a lot, of whom 149 (50%) did not receive social grants. Experiencing a large income decrease was highly associated with increased difficulty accessing food during the COVID-19 pandemic (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.63, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 2.70-4.88). The aORs for the effect of a large income decrease on difficulty accessing food, compared to no income change, were 1.49 (95%CI 0.98-2.28) among participants receiving social grants, and 6.63 (95%CI 4.39-9.99) among participants not receiving social grants.
While social grant support made a great difference in lowering the effect of income decrease on difficulty accessing food, it was insufficient to fully protect youth from those difficulties. In post-pandemic recovery efforts, there is a critical need to support youth through economic empowerment programming and food schemes.