Assessing and Mitigating the Food Insecurity Consequences of COVID-19 Public Health Measures on Marginalized Refugees and Migrants in Canada, Latin America and Africa

The project’s overall goal is to address and improve responses to one of the most pressing social and health challenges associated with the rapidly evolving pandemic in Canada and LMICs—the food insecurity of urban migrants and refugees. It will advance evidence-based policy recommendations with broader applicability to other jurisdictions facing similar pandemic-related social, policy and public health challenges. The project will engage international, national and community stakeholders in the design of more effective counter-measures to deal with the food insecurity of marginalized and racialized populations from FCV countries during public health and economic crises driven by pandemics and other disasters.

The project’s specific objectives include:

• To examine the impact of public health containment and mitigation responses to COVID-19 on the food security of marginalized refugee and migrant groups in urban areas, with an emphasis on documenting experiences of less visible, at-risk segments, including unaccompanied child migrants and youth, elderly migrants, and female-headed households;
• To assess the similarities and differences between the three sites and migrants’ experience from selected FCV countries in each city in terms of access to government, business, and community food security and social protection mechanisms, including healthcare and other social services;
• To provide critical decision-making and pandemic response data to local stakeholders to inform food and public health policy responses and interventions;
• To strengthen the capacity of Canadian and LMIC researchers and research institutions to respond rapidly to ongoing and future food security shocks