Pension beneficiaries’ household food insecurity and associated factors in Debre Markos town, Northwest Ethiopia

OBJECTIVES: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April, 2016 in Debre Markos town, Northwest Ethiopia to assess the level of household food insecurity and associated factors among pension beneficiaries. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of household food insecurity among pension beneficiaries’ households was 82.5%. Among food insecure households, 4.9% were labelled as mildly, 48.5% moderately and 46.6% severely food insecure. Living in rental house (P = 0.05), being younger beneficiaries (P = 0.001), low monthly household income (P = 0.001) and poor self-reported health status (P = 0.03) were found significantly associated with household food insecurity. In conclusion, food insecurity was a public health problem among pension beneficiaries in the study area. The effort of the government to increase the pension benefit and making especial subsidy on food and health costs yield a long-term solution.