Food Prices Shocks and Household Nutrition in Ethiopia: A Gender Lens for Policy Response
Date
2025
Authors
Mehare, Abule
Hundie, Shemelis Kebede
Abdisa, Lamessa T.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AERC
Abstract
Food prices matter because they directly shape what households can buy and eat. Between the LSMS rounds (2018/19 - 2021/22), Ethiopian households faced higher food price pressure that translated into larger food budget shares and lower dietary diversity. These trends matter for policymakers because diet quality, not just calorie intake, drives child growth, cognitive development, and long-term productivity. Gender matters because women typically manage household food procurement, preparation, and caregiving. When prices rise, female household heads and women caregivers make different trade-offs (for example, prioritizing staple purchases or sacrificing non-food spending) that can protect short-term diets but increase longer-term economic and health risks. Current food security and nutrition strategies are often gender-neutral or insufficiently shockresponsive: this policy gap reduces effectiveness at protecting the most vulnerable during price spikes. Currently, Ethiopia is facing sustained inflation and more frequent climate shocks (droughts and floods). Without targeted, gender-sensitive measures, gains in nutrition and poverty reduction risk reversal.