Food insecurity worsened significantly following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from high-frequency phone surveys implemented as part of the Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Survey on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) – indicate that food insecurity was particularly high in Nigeria. The health and labor impacts of COVID-19, and some policy and other responses to contain its spread, have contributed to supply chain disruptions and likely exacerbated food insecurity. Savings groups may help mitigate some of the negative consequences of COVID-19. This study seeks to answer three main research questions on the association between savings group membership and resilience of Nigerian households after COVID-19: 1) What is the association between savings group membership and changes in savings during the COVID-19 pandemic? 2) What is the association between savings group membership and changes in access to credit during the COVID-19 pandemic? 3) What is the association between savings group membership and changes in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic?
This study finds that over 70 percent of adults in Nigeria were impacted by moderate or severe food insecurity in the immediate aftermath of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020. Households with female savings group members were, on average, 3.7 percentage points less likely to report that they faced any food security challenges than households without female group members after controlling for various baseline and demographic characteristics between April and August 2020. Access to savings and credit likely contributed to the association between savings group membership and food security between April and August 2020.