Coping Strategies for Household Food Insecurity, and Perceived Health in an Urban Community in Southern Mozambique: A Qualitative Study

In low- and middle-income countries, food insecurity (FI) is a living reality for many households, particularly among the most vulnerable groups. The burden of household FI in Mozambique how coping strategies relate to perceived health are unknown. This study investigated lived experiences food-insecure along with their health. Altogether, 16 in-depth interviews were performed, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim. A qualitative content analysis was carried out five themes emerged: FI, used situations choices, climate change security, wide range reported, including cooking whatever available, skipping meals, receiving money or from friends relatives, eating unsafe low-quality foods, taking on additional work, least-preferred having monotonous less-nutritious diet. Furthermore, participants reported emotional distress, anxiety depression, substance use, other negative outcomes. Some had diagnoses hypertension, diabetes HIV/AIDS. findings suggest need employment creation women’s empowerment, as well implementation appropriate policies programmes alleviate FI.