Food Insecurity Among Asylum Seekers in Melbourne, Australia

PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION 0
PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION
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Introduction
In this proposal, I am going to explore the issues of food insecurity. Food Insecurity
Nutrition is significant for people health. However, most people in various regions of the world
are hungry even though there is massive food production; thus, the effect is due to the production
of unhealthy food. In this case, we are going to lay our focus on asylum seekers in Melbourne,
Australia. Studies show that many asylums living around Melbourne are entitled to lack of
employment opportunities, government financial assistance, and other social services, which
makes them vulnerable to issues of food insecurity.
According to studies, food and nutrition insecurity is the state where households are
unable to access adequate nutritionally and safe food, are the inability to acquire socially
acceptable food . Similar studies show that food insecurity can exist where some people take
little food to help others with food. Therefore, various measure should be taken in Australia to
prevent the increasing cases of food insecurity especially to the asylum seekers
Prevalence of food insecurity in Australia
Recent surveys carried by the National Health Survey Group found that 5.1% of asylum
seekers were food insecure. A similar study found that there have been policy changes and some
economic uncertainties which have negative impacts on a monthly income of vulnerable groups
within Australia. Also, it has impacted asylum seekers since they cannot get enough and secure
food. A recent study on food security carried in Australia in the city of Brisbane highlighted food
insecurity is about 25% to those group of people who are economically disadvantaged and those
with low household total income.

Causes of food insecurity
Food insecurity is a detrimental condition, and various factors cause it. According to
recent reports, Asylum seekers have been highly vulnerable to food insecurity more as compare
to other groups due to different work restriction and inadequate protection by the government.
Low or no income among the asylum seekers leads to food insecurity since they don't have
enough financial resources to secure safe food. A study shows that a high number of Asylum
seekers in Australia are facing many restrictions such as work restrictions which are leading to
food insecurity.
According to recent reports, it was found that only 10% of Asylum seekers earn some
income, but they can't afford to buy enough food to eat due to low-income. Also, the lack of
enough support from the government due to policy changes limits to secure safe food. Moreover,
most nutritious foods are mainly expensive, making it challenging to obtain them, leading to
food insecurity. In many cases, asylum seekers are always geographically isolated, limiting them
to access nutritious food. Additionally, most of the asylum seekers, due to their state lack enough
knowledge on a nutritious diet, which makes them vulnerable to food insecurity issues.
Consequences of food insecurity in Australia
Recent reports show that food insecurity has high many negative impacts on people’s
health1. For instance, it has led to poor health condition mainly among the asylum seekers. Also.
It has contributed to poor nutrition and poor mental health among various asylum seekers in
Australia. There are many of them hospitalized to due cases of food insecurity. Also, it leads to
weak growth among the children and high chances of getting chronic illnesses. Moreover, food
insecurity has negative impacts on women since it leads to obesity.