Food security and diets in urban Asia: How resilient are food systems in times of COVID-19?

Report on an assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBB) and Dikoda on the level of resilience and adaptability of urban food systems in the face of the COVID-19 crisis in eight selected cities in the Asia/Pacific region. Conducted between January and April 2021, this research used a range of methods and data sources to characterize urban food systems and explored external drivers, food supply chains, food environments, individual factors, consumer behavior, and diet outcomes. The Food Systems Dashboard Framework developed by Johns Hopkins University, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and other international collaborators was used as the conceptual framework to guide the analysis. The report triangulates findings between qualitative research carried out by Dikoda, WFP assessments and external sources to provide regional insights, as well as eight city-specific briefs on local-level impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerabilities. This report presents recommendations for improving policy-response to external shocks specific to urban South and South-East Asian contexts and methodological recommendations for better tracking of vulnerability in urban contexts.