Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 2.1 commits countries to end hunger, ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year around. Indicator 2.1.2, “Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)”, provides internationally-comparable estimates of the proportion of the population facing difficulties in accessing food. More detailed background information is available at http://www.fao.org/in-action/voices-of-the-hungry/fies/en/.

The FIES-based indicators are compiled using the FIES survey module, containing 8 questions. Two indicators can be computed:
1. The proportion of the population experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity (SDG indicator 2.1.2). 2. The proportion of the population experiencing severe food insecurity.

These data were collected by FAO through GeoPoll. National institutions can also collect FIES data by including the FIES survey module in nationally representative surveys.

Microdata can be used to calculate the indicator 2.1.2 at national level. Instructions for computing this indicator are described in the methodological document available in the documentations tab. Disaggregating results at sub-national level is not encouraged because estimates will suffer from substantial sampling and measurement error.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Individuals

Universe

Individuals of 15 years or older.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

A Random Digit Dialling (RDD) approach was used to form a random sample of telephone numbers. Stratified phone numbers made available from telephone service providers or administrative registers were also used to integrate RDD when needed. Socio-demographic characteristics collected in the survey were then compared with the available information from recent national surveys to verify the extent to which the sample mirrored the total population structure. In case of discrepancies, post-stratification sampling weights were computed to adjust for the under-represented populations, typically using sex and education level. Exclusions: NA Design effect: NA

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Telephone Interview [cati]

Cleaning operations

Statistical validation assesses the quality of the FIES data collected by testing their consistency with the assumptions of the Rasch model. This analysis involves the interpretation of several statistics that reveal 1) items that do not perform well in a given context, 2) cases with highly erratic response patterns, 3) pairs of items that may be redundant, and 4) the proportion of total variance in the population that is accounted for by the measurement model.

Sampling error estimates

Not Available.

Data appraisal

Since the population with access to mobile telephones is likely to differ from the rest of the population with respect to their access to food, post-hoc adjustments were made to control for the potential resulting bias. Post-stratification weights were built to adjust the sample distribution by gender and education of the respondent at admin-1 level, to match the same distribution in the total population. However, an additional step was needed to try to ascertain the food insecurity condition of those with access to phones compared to that of the total population.

Using FIES data collected by FAO through the GWP between 2014 and 2019, and a variable on access to mobile telephones that was also in the dataset, it was possible to compare the prevalence of food insecurity at moderate or severe level, and severe level only, of respondents with access to a mobile phone to that of the total population at national level.

Abstract

The Ethiopia Socioeconomic Panel Survey (ESPS) is a collaborative project between the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS) and the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) team. The objective of the LSMS-ISA is to collect multi-topic, household-level panel data with a special focus on improving agriculture statistics and generating a clearer understanding of the link between agriculture and other sectors of the economy. The project also aims to build capacity, share knowledge across countries, and improve survey methodologies and technology. ESPS is a long-term project to collect panel data. The project responds to the data needs of the country, given the dependence of a high percentage of households on agriculture activities in the country. The ESPS collects information on household agricultural activities along with other information on the households like human capital, other economic activities, and access to services and resources. The ability to follow the same households over time makes the ESPS a new and powerful tool for studying and understanding the role of agriculture in household welfare over time as it allows analyses of how households add to their human and physical capital, how education affects earnings, and the role of government policies and programs on poverty, inter alia. The ESPS is the first-panel survey to be carried out by the Ethiopian Statistical Service that links a multi-topic household questionnaire with detailed data on agriculture.

Geographic coverage

National Regional Urban and Rural

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual
• Community

Universe

The survey covered all de jure households excluding prisons, hospitals, military barracks, and school dormitories.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sampling frame for the second phase ESPS panel survey is based on the updated 2018 pre-census cartographic database of enumeration areas by the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS). The sample is a two-stage stratified probability sample. The ESPS EAs in rural areas are the subsample of the AgSS EA sample. That means the first stage of sampling in the rural areas entailed selecting enumeration areas (i.e., the primary sampling units) using simple random sampling (SRS) from the sample of the 2018 AgSS enumeration areas (EAs). The first stage of sampling for urban areas is selecting EAs directly from the urban frame of EAs within each region using systematic PPS. This is designed to automatically result in a proportional allocation of the urban sample by zone within each region. Following the selection of sample EAs, they are allocated by urban rural strata using power allocation which is happened to be closer to proportional allocation.

The second stage of sampling is the selection of households to be surveyed in each sampled EA using systematic random sampling. From the rural EAs, 10 agricultural households are selected as a subsample of the households selected for the AgSS, and 2 non-agricultural households are selected from the non-agriculture households list in that specific EA. The non-agriculture household selection follows the same sampling method i.e., systematic random sampling. One important issue to note in ESPS sampling is that the total number of agriculture households per EA remains at 10 even though there are less than 2 or no non-agriculture households are listed and sampled in that EA. For urban areas, a total of 15 households are selected per EA regardless of the households’ economic activity. The households are selected using systematic random sampling from the total households listed in that specific EA.

The ESPS-5 kept all the ESPS-4 samples except for those in the Tigray region and a few other places. A more detailed description of the sample design is provided in Section 3 of the Basic Information Document provided under the Related Materials tab.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

The ESPS-5 survey consisted of four questionnaires (household, community, post-planting, and post-harvest questionnaires), similar to those used in previous waves but revised based on the results of those waves and on the need for new data they revealed. The following new topics are included in ESPS-5:

a. Dietary Quality: This module collected information on the household’s consumption of specified food items.

b. Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES): In this round the survey has implemented FIES. The scale is based on the eight food insecurity experience questions on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale | Voices of the Hungry | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (fao.org).

c. Basic Agriculture Information: This module is designed to collect minimal agriculture information from households. It is primarily for urban households. However, it was also used for a few rural households where it was not possible to implement the full agriculture module due to security reasons and administered for urban households. It asked whether they had undertaken any agricultural activity, such as crop farming and tending livestock) in the last 12 months. For crop farming, the questions were on land tenure, crop type, input use, and production. For livestock there were also questions on their size and type, livestock products, and income from sales of livestock or livestock products.

d. Climate Risk Perception: This module was intended to elicit both rural and urban households perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about different climate-related risks. It also asked where and how households were obtaining information on climate and weather-related events.

e. Agriculture Mechanization and Video-Based Agricultural Extension: The rural area community questionnaire covered these areas rural areas. On mechanization the questions related to the penetration, availability and accessibility of agricultural machinery. Communities were also asked if they had received video-based extension services.

Cleaning operations

Final data cleaning was carried out on all data files. Only errors that could be clearly and confidently fixed by the team were corrected; errors that had no clear fix were left in the datasets. Cleaning methods for these errors are left up to the data user.

Response rate

ESPS-5 planned to interview 7,527 households from 565 enumeration areas (EAs) (Rural 316 EAs and Urban 249 EAs). However, due to the security situation in northern Ethiopia and to a lesser extent in the western part of the country, only a total of 4999 households from 438 EAs were interviewed for both the agriculture and household modules. The security situation in northern parts of Ethiopia meant that, in Tigray, ESPS-5 did not cover any of the EAs and households previously sampled. In Afar, while 275 households in 44 EAs had been covered by both the ESPS-4 agriculture and household modules, in ESPS-5 only 252 households in 22 EAs were covered by both modules. During the fifth wave, security was also a problem in both the Amhara and Oromia regions, so there was a comparable reduction in the number of households and EAs covered there.

More detailed information is available in the BID.

Abstract

The potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia are expected to be severe on Ethiopian households' welfare. To monitor these impacts on households, the team selected a subsample of households that had been interviewed for the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) in 2019, covering urban and rural areas in all regions of Ethiopia. The 15-minute questionnaire covers a series of topics, such as knowledge of COVID and mitigation measures, access to routine healthcare as public health systems are increasingly under stress, access to educational activities during school closures, employment dynamics, household income and livelihood, income loss and coping strategies, and external assistance.

The survey is implemented using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing, using a modular approach, which allows for modules to be dropped and/or added in different waves of the survey. Survey data collection started at the end of April 2020 and households are called back every three to four weeks for a total of seven survey rounds to track the impact of the pandemic as it unfolds and inform government action. This provides data to the government and development partners in near real-time, supporting an evidence-based response to the crisis.

The sample of households was drawn from the sample of households interviewed in the 2018/2019 round of the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS). The extensive information collected in the ESS, less than one year prior to the pandemic, provides a rich set of background information on the COVID-19 High Frequency Phone Survey of households which can be leveraged to assess the differential impacts of the pandemic in the country.

Geographic coverage

National coverage - rural and urban

Analysis unit

Individual and household

Universe

The survey covered all de jure households excluding prisons, hospitals, military barracks, and school dormitories.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample of the HFPS-HH is a subsample of the 2018/19 Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS). The ESS is built on a nationally and regionally representative sample of households in Ethiopia. ESS 2018/19 interviewed 6,770 households in urban and rural areas. In the ESS interview, households were asked to provide phone numbers either their own or that of a reference household (i.e. friends or neighbors) so that they can be contacted in the follow-up ESS surveys should they move from their sampled location. At least one valid phone number was obtained for 5,374 households (4,626 owning a phone and 995 with a reference phone number). These households established the sampling frame for the HFPS-HH.

To obtain representative strata at the national, urban, and rural level, the target sample size for the HFPS-HH is 3,300 households; 1,300 in rural and 2,000 households in urban areas. In rural areas, we attempt to call all phone numbers included in the ESS as only 1,413 households owned phones and another 771 households provided reference phone numbers. In urban areas, 3,213 households owned a phone and 224 households provided reference phone numbers. To account for non-response and attrition all the 5,374 households were called in round 1 of the HFPS-HH.

The total number of completed interviews in round one is 3,249 households (978 in rural areas, 2,271 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round two is 3,107 households (940 in rural areas, 2,167 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round three is 3,058 households (934 in rural areas, 2,124 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round four is 2,878 households (838 in rural areas, 2,040 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round five is 2,770 households (775 in rural areas, 1,995 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round six is 2,704 households (760 in rural areas, 1,944 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round seven is 2,537 households (716 in rural areas, 1,1821 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round eight is 2,222 households (576 in rural areas, 1,646 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round nine is 2,077 households (553 in rural areas, 1,524 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round ten is 2,178 households (537 in rural areas, 1,641 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round eleven is 1,982 households (442 in rural areas, 1,540 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round twelve is 888 households (204 in rural areas, 684 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round thirteen is 2,876 households (955 in rural areas, 1,921 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round fourteen is 2,509 households (765 in rural areas, 1,744 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round fifteen is 2,521 households (823 in rural areas, 1,698 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round sixteen is 2,336 households. The total number of completed interviews in round seventeen is 2,357 households. The total number of completed interviews in round eighteen is 2,237 households (701 in rural areas, 1,536 in urban areas). The total number of completed interviews in round nineteen is 2,566 households (806 in rural areas, 1,760 in urban areas).

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Telephone Interview [cati]

Research instrument

The survey questionnaires were administered to all the households in the sample. The questionnaires consisted of the following sections:

Baseline (Round 1) - Household Identification - Interview Information - Household Roster - Knowledge Regarding the Spread of Coronavirus - Behavior and Social Distancing - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Income Loss and Coping - Food Security - Aid and Support/ Social Safety Nets

Round 2 - Household Identification - Household Roster - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Income Loss and Coping - Food Security - Aid and Support/ Social Safety Nets

Round 3 - Household Identification - Household Roster - Behavior and social distancing - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Income Loss and Coping - Food Security - Agriculture - Aid and Support/ Social Safety Nets

Round 4 - Household Identification - Household Roster - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Income Loss and Coping - Food Security - Agriculture - Aid and Support/ Social Safety Nets - Locusts - WASH

Round 5 - Household Identification - Household Roster - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Income Loss and Coping - Aid and Support/ Social Safety Nets - Agriculture - Livestock

Round 6 - Household Identification - Household Roster - Behavior and Social Distancing - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Income Loss and Coping - Aid and Support/ Social Safety Nets - Agriculture - Locusts

Round 7 - Household Identification - Household Roster - Behavior and Social Distancing - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Income Loss and Coping - Aid and Support/ Social Safety Nets - Agriculture - Locusts

Round 8 - Household Identification - Household Roster - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Education and Childcaring - Credit - Migration - Return Migration

Round 9 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Aid and Support/ Social Safety Nets - Agriculture - WASH

Round 10 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Basic Services - Employment

Round 11 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Basic Services - Employment - Education and Childcaring - Food Insecurity Experience Scale - SWIFT

Round 12 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Youth Aspirations and Employment

Round 13 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Health Services - Employment - Food Prices

Round 14 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Health Services - COVID-19 Vaccine - Employment - Economic Sentiments - Food Prices - Agriculture

Round 15 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Health Services - Economic Sentiments - Food Insecurity Experience Scale - Food Prices

Round 16 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Health Services - Employment and Non-farm Enterprises - Food and Non-food prices - Shocks and Coping Strategies - Subjective Welfare

Round 17 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Health Services for Individual Household Members (Sample A) - Access to Health Services for Households (Sample B) - Food and Non-food prices - Economic Sentiments
- Food Insecurity Experience Scale

Round 18 - Household Identification - Household Roster Update - Access to Health Services for Individual Household Members - Food and Non-food prices - Economic Sentiments (Sample B) - Food Insecurity Experience Scale (Sample A)

Round 19 - Household Identification - Household's Residential Location Verification - Household Roster Update - Food and Non-food Prices - Agriculture Crop - Agriculture Livestock

Cleaning operations

DATA CLEANING At the end of data collection, the raw dataset was cleaned by the Research team. This included formatting, and correcting results based on monitoring issues, enumerator feedback and survey changes. The details are as follows.

Variable naming and labeling: • Variable names were changed to reflect the lowercase question name in the paper survey copy, and a word or two related to the question.

• Variables were labeled