How households in Namibia cope with drought and food insecurity
A new study in Climate Risk Management examines how households in drought-affected northern Namibia coped with recurrent climate shocks. The study’s findings reveal that a year after the 2023–2024 Southern Africa drought, food insecurity remained stubbornly high, and fear of future food insecurity was widespread.
Drawing on household survey data from northern Namibia, researchers including Feinstein International Center’s Leah Poole-Selters, Komal Rathod, Carolyn Van Sant, and Erin Coughlan de Perez identify that 42% of households still report moderate to severe hunger one year post-drought.
Significant demographic associations also emerged: female-headed and agriculture-dependent households faced elevated risk, while access to income and food aid offered meaningful protection.
The findings reveal a critical gap between promoted and practiced adaptation. For example, while diversification of livelihoods or crops was the most common coping strategy, the study’s data showed no significant link between diversification and reduced hunger.
Notably, concern about future food insecurity was nearly universal, reported by 86–95% of households regardless of food security status or coping strategy use.
The authors call for drought policy that builds on strategies households already use, rather than imposing standardized diversification models, and for greater attention to the psychological dimensions of climate vulnerability.
