Prospecting for Nutrition? How Natural Resource Extraction Impacts Food Choices in Marginalized Communities
Abstract
While resource riches line the African continent, this has done little to prevent childhood malnutrition. Indeed, the (very limited) evidence available suggests child nutrition may be worse in mining-dependent communities. This project will investigate the food choices driving this disconnect in gold-mining areas in northern Guinea. After engaging local stakeholders to finalize the research strategy and ensure relevance, we will apply mixed-methods to study the diverse drivers of food choice for women miners and their partners (particularly mothers of young children), food vendors, and market sellers in mining-dependent communities. We will conduct a cross-sectional household survey, a vendor survey, market surveys, semi-structured interviews including observation periods, a Q methodology study, and a telephone survey of relatives in miners’ villages of origin. Through all methods, we will elucidate economic, social, geographic, cultural, and gender-related factors. We will then build on the results to develop an SBCC strategy and recommend policy options for improving nutrition in similar marginal communities. The research will shed light on how food choices change amid the transition from agricultural to resource-extraction livelihoods. As about 100 million people worldwide depend on artisanal mining for their livelihoods, the results should be of considerable policy and programmatic relevance.
Lead Institution
- Helen Keller International (HKI)
Collaborating Institutions
- Johns Hopkins University
- Université Julius Nyerere (Kankan, Guinea)
Principal Investigator(s)
- Rolf D.W. Klemm, DrPH, Vice President for Nutrition, Helen Keller International, New York, NY and Senior Associate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Co-Investigator(s)
- Peter J. Winch, MD, MPH, Professor; Social & Behavioral Interventions Program; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Stella Nordhagen, PhD, Implementation Research Advisor, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Geneva, Switzerland
- Sadio Diallo, Professor and Head of Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science, Université Julius Nyerere de Kankan, Kankan, Guinea
- Alpha Oumar Barry, PhD, Professor and Head of Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science, Université Julius Nyerere de Kankan, Kankan, Guinea
Journal Publications
- Nordhagen S, Fofana ML, Barry AO, Diallo S, Songbono JL, Stokes-Walters R, Zhang LX, Klemm R, Winch PJ. (2021). Between the city and the farm: food environments in artisanal mining communities in Upper Guinea. Public Health Nutrition, 1-13. doi:10.1017/S1368980021002020.
- Stokes-Walters R, Fofana ML, Songbono JL, Barry AO, Diallo S, Nordhagen S, Zhang LX, Klemm RD, Winch PJ. “‘If you don’t find anything, you can’t eat’ – Mining livelihoods and income, gender roles, and food choices in northern Guinea.” Resources Policy, in press.
- Zhang LX, Koroma F, Fofana ML, Barry AO, Diallo S, Songbono JL, Stokes-Walters R, Klemm RD, Nordhagen S, Winch PJ. Food Security in Artisanal Mining Communities: An Exploration of Rural Markets in Northern Guinea. Foods. 2020;9(4):479. doi: 10.3390/foods9040479.
Posters & Presentations
- “Artisanal mining in rural Africa: Blurring the line between urban, non-agricultural and rural, agricultural food environments” By Nordhagen S, Winch P, Klemm R, Fofan ML, Barry AO, Diallo S, Stokes-Walters R, Zhang L. 5th Agriculture, Nutrition & Health (ANH) Academy Week, June 30 – July 2, 2020. ([pdf])
- “Food Security in Artisanal Mining Communities: Exploring Rural Markets in Northern Guinea” By Zhang L, Koroma F, Fofana ML, Barry AO, Diallo S, Songbono JL, Stokes-Walters R, Klemm RD, Nordhagen S, Winch PJ. 5th Agriculture, Nutrition & Health (ANH) Academy Week, June 30 – July 2, 2020. ([pdf])
Briefs
Research Brief
- Klemm RD, Winch PJ, Nordhagen S, Diallo S, Barry AO. (2020). “Prospecting for Nutrition? How Natural Resource Extraction Impacts Food Choices in Marginalized Communities.”
Other
Open Access Data
Webinar Presentation
- “Drivers of food choice in the context of changing livelihoods” By Ligia Reyes, Amy Webb Girard, Amy Ickowitz, & Stella Nordhagen.