Household Food Insecurity Among Dalit Ethnic Group in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan, Nepal

Abstract Background The problem of food insecurity, from a public health perspective, is becoming increasingly pressing, as 9% of the global population is currently experiencing severe food insecurity most of whom reside in low- and middle-income countries. In Nepal, socially excluded ethnic groups are particularly vulnerable to acute food insecurity Objective The aim was to determine the proportion of households experiencing food insecurity and to identify the factors contributing to it. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 181 Dalit families in the Chitwan district of Nepal using a semi-structured questionnaire and were subsequently analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. A multinomial logistic regression model was employed for this purpose, and its validity was assessed Results Around 44.2% of households were food secure, 20% were mild food insecure, 20.4% to moderate and the rest 12.2% were severe food insecure. The variables religion, sex of household head, education of household head, house type, own land and monthly income were found to be statistically significant. Compared to literate household head, households with illiterate household head are 7.28 (CI: 2.03-26. 10) times more likely to experience severe food insecurity. Conclusion The study highlights a high burden of food insecurity among Dalit households in Bharatpur. Sex of the household head, the literacy level of the household head, land ownership, religion and housing type were significant predictors of food insecurity in this study. These findings underscore the need for targeted policy interventions to address food insecurity within socially excluded and economically disadvantaged communities.