DR Congo + 1 more
A new tool in the toolbox: using mobile text for food security surveys in a conflict setting
Primary collection of household food security data is typically both expensive and cumbersome. As a result, decisions on humanitarian assistance are often based on information that is out of date, or on unsatisfactory aggregate proxy indicators. However, thanks to increasingly widespread access to mobile telephony, many survey respondents can now be contacted through their mobile phones, offering the possibility of much cheaper, faster and more timely data collection.
In order to assess the suitability of mobile text surveys for household food security assessments, the World Food Programme (WFP) conducted a field test in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in mid-2013. Approximately half of households in the province own a mobile phone (above the average for Sub-Saharan Africa). The field test took place at a time of active conflict, restricted humanitarian access and large-scale displacement.