Tracking food security during the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak

This February 2015 survey from VAM Food Security Analysis, World Food Programme, indicates that the overall situation is stabilizing or improving in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the poorest households seem to be increasingly reliant on negative coping strategies.Some Ebola-affected areas – such as Kenema in Sierra Leone – have seen a rebound in palm oil prices and labour markets and a decline in negative coping, which may signal an economic recovery that could bolster food security. By contrast, food security indicators continue to be poor in Lofa, Grand Cape Mount, Bomi and Gbarpolu in Liberia, and in Koinadugu, Bombali and Tonkolili in Sierra Leone. All of these places seem to be exposed to high staple food prices and relatively low terms of trade.