Sales of food aid as sign of distress, not excess

In 1996 the sale and export of food aid from refugee camps near Uvira, Zaire, prompted a reduction in donated rations. However, research has revealed that the sales did not reflect an excess of food in the camps. They were provoked by the absence of important components of the food basket, by cultural aversion to the staple (maize) and oil provided, by difficulties in food preparation, and by the refugeesʹ limited ability to diversify their diet and cover pressing non-food needs. Food sales improved the micronutrient content of diets but at the expense of energy lost from an already energy-deficient diet. At most 23% of the refugee households were eating sufficient and adequate diets; the poorest one-fifth of households were twice as likely to sell or exchange food as were other households and their diets were the worst. These findings demonstrate the perils of the gap between policy and practice in food-aid distribution.