Magnitude and determinants of food insecurity among pregnant women in Rwanda during the COVID-19 pandemic

Globally, food insecurity is becoming a major public health concern, and has seriously been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last decade, Rwanda has made significant improvement in terms of overall household food security. However, the magnitude of food insecurity among pregnant women is not well known. This study investigated the magnitude and factors associated with food insecurity among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a cross-sectional study conducted in 30 health facilities across the country where a total of 1159 pregnant women in their first trimester of pregnancy were recruited during antenatal care visits (ANC). A pretested, standardized, and structured questionnaire was used to collect information on food insecurity based on household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS). Descriptive statistics were used to describe the basic characteristics of the study respondents and the status of household food insecurity. Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the predictors of food insecurity at a significance level of 5%. The majority (78.1%) of recruited pregnant women were aged 20 to 35 years and 70.3% were from rural areas. Overall, 53.1% of pregnant women were food insecure during COVID-19 pandemic. Pregnant women with low education level {AOR = 4.58; 95%CI = 1.88-11.15} and from low social economic households {AOR = 2.45; 95%CI = 1.59-3.76} were more likely to become food insecure during COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, women from households with farming as the main source of income had 64% more risk of food insecurity compared to women from household with other sources of monthly income. To achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) targets related to food security, there is urgent need to transform the agricultural sector from traditional farming to modern/technology farming. This will reduce the level of food insecurity in developing countries. There is also a need to provide social safety nets to pregnant women from families in lower socio-economic categories during pandemics.