Gaps in nutrition of the population of Armenia – research

“The Advanced Public Research Group” (APR Group) in partnership with Oxfam in Armenia conducted a research to identify the state and gaps of nutrition of the population of Armenia as well as efficiency of existing national policies and their implementation mechanisms.  The study was conducted among 1600 households in 10 regions of Armenia and Yerevan.

The research is conducted within the framework of EU-funded “Improving Regional Food Security through National Strategies and Small Holder Production in the South Caucasus” project. The results of the study are preliminary and will be finalized in the upcoming month.

About food and income

According to preliminary results of the study, 46,4 % of respondents said that there have been times in the past 12 months when their families experienced lack of food. This more frequently occurred in February (58,3%), March (68,5%) and April (57,6%). The vast majority of respondents (70%) noted that the average monthly income of their families was below 200,000 AMD. More specifically,  the average monthly income of 29,6 % of families constituted approximately 100-200,000 AMD, 27 % earned around 54-100,000 AMD on average and 13,8 % of families reported an average monthly income of up to 54,000 AMD.

49 % of respondents said that compared to last year the amount spent on food increased; 26,1 % said that this amount was the same. These results are recorded in line with the facts that in the observed period income of 39,1% respondents decreased and 45,5% reported the same income.

The following responses were received to the “Do you ever borrow food with the condition to pay later?” question: 17,8% of respondents – almost always, 16,9% – very often, 18,8% – sometimes, 9,2% – seldom and 36,6% – never.

When describing  the condition of their households 27,4% of respondents noted that they did not earn enough money even to buy enough food; 40,7% said that their income was sufficient only to buy food, not clothing; and only 23,6% of respondents mentioned that their income was sufficient both for food and clothing, but not for purchasing commodities for long-term use. Only 1,4% of respondents could afford buying houshehold equipment and furniture and 0,3% said they could afford cars, apartments and so on.

About sanitary conditions and food poisoning cases

86,4% of respondents noted that they washed hands eight and more times a day; 72,2% noted that they almost always used a soap while washing hands. In the meantime, only 69,6% of respondents have round-the-clock water supply in their houses. The 15,3% of respondents never have enough water to meet all the needs of their households related to water use.

2,3% of respondents drink water from tanks, 2,8% drink spring water, 1,6% drink water from the well, 2,56% prefer bottled water, 1,9% of respondents drink filtered tap water and 87,6% drink regular water from the tap.

The following answers were received to the “Have you ever got poisoned by food?” question: 89,2% – never; 6,6% – once every two-three years; and 3,4% – once or twice a year.

When asked the “what lessons learnt do you have after getting food poisoning?” question, 4,76% noted that they stopped eating certain types of food; 3,6% said they changed nothing in their meal plans, 0,3% started to read food labels more attentively, 0,3% stopped eating in certain places (for instance in restaurants and cafes), 0,1% changed the cooking recipes and ways and 0,1% of respondents stopped drinking water from the tap.