As we've seen in a number of pieces of work, and most recently for us in 2007-2008 in the Middle East, food security--notably food prices have a direct negative impact on the poor even the middle class of a society. But the indirect effects accrue exponentially to the poorest: first they lack the "buffers" of economic resiliency which others can use, but then government responses tend to be self-protective and aimed at helping the urban middle class first. Nothing is lost, nothing is created: those responses tend to cost money and the money then comes short when it's time to maintain, for example, the health service infrastructure to remove and poor areas. Donor money also runs out...
This explains why there is so much current focus on food security, and why we feel it has to be an area of emphasis if we look at sustaining health outcome and human development.
Here's an updated blog from Bethany Duffield on Will's own blog page -- focused on today's situation in Uganda. A good read.
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