(P24-078-24) Household Water Insecurity Is Associated With Food Insecurity in 2 Districts in the Northern Region of Ghana

Objectives: To examine the associations between household water insecurity and food insecurity, and access to drinking water services among households in 2 districts in the Northern Region of Ghana.

Methods: We enrolled households (n = 1309) into the Condiment Micronutrient Innovation Trial (CoMIT) from 14 urban and 14 rural/peri-urban clusters in the Tolon and Kumbungu districts. At recruitment, we administered the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE, range 0-36) Scale and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), and collected data on selected socio-demographic characteristics, including drinking water services (i.e., accessibility, availability and quality of the main water source used by households). Relationships between household water insecurity and food insecurity, and between water insecurity and drinking water services were evaluated using Chi-square tests.

Results: 11.5% of households were water insecure (HWISE > 12), and 42.8% of households were moderately or severely food insecure. Water insecure households were more likely to be moderately or severely food insecure compared to water secure households (60% vs. 40%, p < 0.001). 47.4% of households relied on unimproved or no drinking water services (94% of whom relied on surface water). Water insecurity was 19.5% among those with unimproved/no drinking water services compared to 4.2% among those accessing improved drinking water services (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: In this population, water insecurity was strongly associated with both food insecurity and drinking water services. Associations of indicators of water and food insecurity with dietary intakes and nutritional status among young children and women of reproductive age should be investigated further. Policies and interventions designed to improve dietary intakes and nutritional status may need to address both water and food insecurity in this population.

Funding Sources: Funded by a grant from Helen Keller International through support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.