基于糧食不安全經(jīng)驗(yàn)的量表和糧食安全治理：來自巴西的一個(gè)案例研究

GlobalFoodSecurit41(2024)100766y

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GlobalFoodSecurity

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Foodinsecurityexperience-basedscalesandfoodsecuritygovernance:AcasestudyfromBrazil

RafaelPrez-Escamilla

a,

*,RosanaSalles-Costa

b,AnaMariaSegall-Corra

c

aDepartmentofSocialandBehavioralSciences,YaleSchoolofPublicHealth,NewHaven,Connecticut,USA

bInstituteofNutritionJosudeCastro,FederalUniversityofRiodeJaneiro,CarlosChagasFilhoAv.367,blocoJ,2?Andar,RiodeJaneiro,RJ,BrazilcFood,NutritionandCultureProgram,OswaldoCruzFoundation,Brasília,DF,Brazil

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ARTICLE

INFO

ABSTRACT

Keywords:

ThewellvalidatedBrazilianFoodInsecurityScale(EBIA)documentedmajorreductionsinmoderate/severefood

Brazil

insecurity(FI)between2004and2014likelybecauseofeconomicgrowthinthecontextofequitablesocialand

FoodsecurityGovernance

MeasurementFoodpolicy

economicpolicies.Coincidingwithachangeinpoliticaladministrations,inabout2015,FIratesstartedtorapidlyrebound,withtheFIcrisisbecomingsubstantiallyworstduringtheCOVID-19pandemicbecauseequi-tablesocialpolicieswereweakenedoreliminatedduringtheeconomicrecessionandpoliticalcrisisprecedingit.EvidencesuggeststhatEBIAhashelpedinformfoodsecuritygovernanceinBrazilbydocumentingchangesinFI

coincidingwithmajorshiftsinsocialandeconomicpolicies.ResearchisneededtounderstandtowhatextentthesepolicyshiftsmayexplaintheFIfluctuationsovertime.

1.Introduction

Wellvalidatedexperience-basedFIscalesgroundedontheconsensusdefinitionofhouseholdFI(HFI)(

Prez-Escamilla,2023

;

Prez-Escamilla,2024

)havebeenappliedatthenational,regional,andgloballevelfordecades(

Prez-Escamilla,2024

;

Salles-Costaetal.,2022

;

USDA,2023

).Yetthereisadearthofstudiesthathaveexaminedifandhowtheyhavehelpedimprovethedesign,targeting,andevaluationoffoodandnutritionsecuritypoliciesandprograms.Thespecificobjec-tivesofthisapaperareto(1)examinehowtheexperience-basedBra-zilianFoodInsecurityScale(EBIA)wasvalidatedandimplementedfromthenationaltothelocalleveland(2)todetermineifEBIAhashelpedimprovefoodsecuritypoliciesandgovernance.ThisworkbuildsfrompreviousanalysesconductedbytheauthorandcollaboratorsinthecontextofBrazilandotherLatinAmericancountries(

Prez-Escamilla,

2012

;

Prez-Escamillaetal.,2017

;

Salles-Costaetal.,2022

;

Segall-Corraetal.,2010

;

Segall-Corraetal.,2009

).

2.Methods

Acasestudyapproachwasfollowedbasedonreviewsofreviews,grayliteraturesearchesandthestrongengagementoftheauthorswiththedevelopment,validation,andimplementationofEBIA

(

Prez-Escamillaetal.,2004

;

Segal-Corraetal.,2014

);theLatinAmericanandCaribbeanFoodSecurityScale

(FAO,2012

),andFAO’sFoodInsecurityExperienceScale(FIES)(

FAO,2016

).

3.Results

3.1.EBIAdevelopment,validation,andimplementation

TheEBIAistheofficialtoolforassessingHFIinBrazilandsince2004hasfacilitatedthemonitoringandimprovementofnationalpublicpol-iciestopromotefoodsecurity.Since2004,theBraziliangovernmenthasconductedNationalHouseholdSampleSurveys(PNAD),andin2018,thegovernmentcarriedoutthelastnationalevaluationofFIforwhichdatawereavailableatthetimeofthisstudy(

Salles-Costaetal.,2022

).

Asshownin

Table1

,intheSpringof2003,thedevelopmentandvalidationworkofEBIAbeganinearnestbasedonmixedmethodsap-proaches.Thefaceandcognitivevalidityphaseincludedfocusgroupswithfoodinsecureindividualsfollowedbyquantitativeapplicationsinfoururbanconvenientsamples;Brasilia,Campinas,JoaoPessoa,andManaus(

Prez-Escamillaetal.,2004

,al;

Segall-Corraetal.,2009

).TheinitialpromisingresultsinurbanareasledtoareplicationoftheprocessinconveniencesamplesinruralareasacrossBrazil(

Sampaioetal.,

2006

;

Segall-Corraetal.,2009

).

*Correspondingauthor.

E-mailaddresses:

rafael.perez-escamilla@

(R.Prez-Escamilla),

rosana@nutricao.ufrj.br

(R.Salles-Costa),

amsegall@.br

(A.M.Segall-Corra).

/10.1016/j.gfs.2024.100766

Received14October2023;Receivedinrevisedform28March2024;Accepted18April2024Availableonline7June2024

2211-9124/?2024TheAuthors.PublishedbyElsevierB.V.ThisisanopenaccessarticleundertheCCBYlicense(

/licenses/by/4.0/

).

2

R.Prez-Escamillaetal.

Table1

BrazilianFoodInsecurityScale(EscalaBrasileiradeInseguran?aAlimentar,EBIA)milestonesinthecontextoffoodandnutritionsecuritygovernanceinBrazil,2003–2023

a,

b.

Year

Milestone

2003–20042003–20042004

EBIAdevelopmentandvalidationinCampinas

EBIAvalidatedacrossurbanandruralareasacrossBrazil

EBIAincludedinnationallyrepresentativesurveyPNAD-2004,baselinenationalfoodinsecurityandhungermapdeveloped

2004

2005

2006

StartofmajorinvestmentsinprogramsdrivenbytheFomeZeropolicyEBIAvalidatedatthemunicipallevelforthefirsttime

NationalFoodSecurityLaw(LOSAN)approvedbyCongress,

establishesCONSEAandacknowledgesEBIAasthenationalmeasure

2009

formonitoringfoodsecurityinBrazil

EBIAincludedinnationallyrepresentativesurveyPNAD-2009

showinga30%reductioninsevereFIjustifyingtheinvestmentsin

2013–2018

equitablesocialpoliciesandfoodsecurityprograms

EBIAincludedinnationallyrepresentativesurveysPNAD-2013,showingthatsignificantlysevereFIreduction(?53.6%)

2014

2015–20172017–2018

2019

2015–2022

FAOremovedBrazilfromitsHungerMap8-itemEBIAincludedinGallup/FApoll

EBIAincludedinPOF-2018

DissolutionoftheCONSEA

Eliminationorweakeningofsocialpoliciesandfoodandnutritionsecurityprograms

2020

DatafromPOF-2018werepublishedshowinga43.8%anincreaseinsevereFI

2020–2022

8-itemEBIAincludedinRedePENSSAN’snationallyrepresentativesurveysVIGISANIandIIshowingthatduringtheCOVID-19pandemic

2022

severeFIdoubledbetween2019and2020andtripledby2022WaterinsecurityscaleHWISEincludedinVIGISANII,strong

associationbetweenwaterandfoodinsecuritydocumented

2023

Governmentdecreetoinclude2-itemvalidatedEBIA,namedTRIA,asascreeningtoolinprimaryhealthcare,asascreeningtoolofsevereFI

2023

Restorationoffoodandnutritionsecuritypoliciesinplaceduringthe2003–2015periodandnewfoodsecuritypolicies,reestablishmentofCONSEA,andimplementationbyfederalgovernmentBrazilwithoutHungerPlan/PlanoBrasilSemFome

2023

EBIAincludedincontinuousnationallyrepresentativesurveyPNADc-2023,planningthereleaseofnewFInationalresultsontheBrazilianpopulationin2024

aSources:

deToledoViannaetal.(2012)

;

Prez-Escamilla,(2012)

;

Poblacin

etal.(2021)

;

RedePENSSAN(2020and2022)

;

SallesCostaetal.(2022)

;

Segall

Corraetal.(2009

,

2010

,

2014

);

Sousaetal.(2019)

.

bAbbreviations:CONSEA,NationalFoodSecurityCouncil;FI,foodinsecurity;LOSAN,OrganicFoodandNutritionSecurityLaw;PNAD,NationalHouseholdSurvey;PNADc,ContinuousNationalHouseholdSurvey;POF,NationalHouse-holdIncomeSurvey;RedePENSSAN,BrazilianResearchNetworkonFoodSovereigntyandFoodandNutritionSecurity;VIGISAN,NationalFoodInsecu-ritySurveyintheContextoftheCOVID-19Pandemic.

NumerousquantitativestudiesandsurveysconductedfromthelocaltothenationallevelhaveconfirmedthepsychometricvalidityofEBIA

usingRaschmodeling,latentclassanalysis,andCronbach’salpha

(

Interlenghietal.,2017

;

Prez-Escamillaetal.,2004

,al;

Segall-Corra

etal.,2009

).ThesestudiesdidnotonlyconfirmtheinternalvalidityofthescalebutalsofullyjustifiedtheuseoffourdifferentcategoriestoclassifyhouseholdsasafunctionofthelevelofFIseverityusingpre-establishedcut-offpoints,i.e.,foodsecure,mildlyfoodinsecure,moderatelyfoodinsecure,andseverelyfoodinsecure(

Interlenghietal.,

2017

).Thesecategoricalstrataareusedregardlessofwhetherthescaleisdirectedtoadult-onlyhouseholdsandregardlessofthenumberofcomponentitemsofthescale’sversion(14,15,or16items)(

Sal-

les-Costaetal.,2022

).QuantitativestudiesandsurveysalsoconfirmedthepredictiveandconcurrentvalidityofEBIA(

Prez-Escamillaetal.,

2004

;

Segall-Corraetal.,2009

).StudieshavealsodocumentedconsistentassociationsbetweenHFIandaconstellationofphysicalandmentaloutcomesacrossehlifecourseafteradjustingfortraditionalpovertyandnutritionalstatusvariables(

Prez-Escamilla,2023

).

TheoverwhelmingevidenceconfirmingthevalidityandusefulnessofEBIAledthegovernmenttoagreetoinvestoverUS$1milliontoincludeEBIAinthe2004NationalHouseholdSurvey(PNAD)andto

GlobalFoodSecurity41(2024)100766

repeatthenationalapplicationinthe2016NationalDemographicandHealthSurvey(PNDS)andinPNADin2009and2013,andthroughtheHouseholdExpenditureSurvey(POF)in2018

(Prez-Escamilla,2012

;

Santosetal.,2022,2023

;

Segall-Corraetal.,2014;Segall-Corraand

Marin-Leon,2009

).

DuringtheCOVID-19pandemicEBIAwasappliedinnationallyrepresentativesamplesin2020and2022throughtheNationalSurveyofFoodInsecurity(

RedePENSSAN,2022

).

Sinceitsintroductioninthe2004PNAD,theEBIAhasundergoneadaptationsinthenumberofitemsusedtoevaluatefoodsecurity/FIlevels,withoutlosingthecomparabilityoftheestimatedFIprevalenceacrosssurveys.Theoriginal15-itemEBIAusedinPNAD2004includedtheitem“amemberolderthan18yreducedhisorhermealsizeorskippedmeals”,whichwasthendisaggregatedinPNAD2009into2items,namely“reducingthemealsize”and“skippingmeals”.Inresponsetonewpsychometricanalyses,this16-itemversionwasfurtherreducedinthePNAD2013toa14-itemversionbyremovingtheitems“anadultcutthemealsize”and“anadultlostweight”(

Segall-Corra

etal.,2014

).

ThecurrentversionoftheEBIAconsistsof14questionscomprisingdichotomousresponseoptions(“yes”or“no”).Eightitemsapplytoadultsinthehousehold(aged18yorabove),withtheremaining6itemsrelatingexclusivelytochildrenand/oradolescentsinthehosuehold,whenapplicable(

Segall-Correaetal.,2014

).ApersonwithinthefamilyresponsibleforpurchasingandpreparingmealsisaskedtorespondtotheEBIAmodule.A2-itembriefEBIAScalehasbeenrecentlyvalidatedtobeusedasascreeningtoolforFIriskwithinmaternalandchildnutritionalsurveillanceatprimaryhealthcareunits

(Poblacionetal.,

2021

).

3.2.SeculartrendsinHFIinBrazil

Datafrom3cross-sectionalBrazilianNationalHouseholdSampleSurveys(samplesizes:2004=112,530;2009=120,910;2013=116,196)andfromthe2018HouseholdBudgetSurvey(samplesize=57,920)thatassessedthestatusofFIusingtheEBIAwereanalyzed(

Salles-Costaetal.,2022

).ChangesinsevereFIduring2periods(2004–2013;2013–2018)wereestimated.Thesespecifictimeperiodswereselectedbecausetheyrepresentedoppositetrendsinthepreva-lenceofFIovertime.DuringtheCOVID-19pandemictwonationallyrepresentativesurveyswereconductedutilizingashortversionofEBIA(the8-itemversionwithquestionsforhouseholdresidentsolderthan18y)(

Interlenghietal.,2019

).ThissectionpresentstheFItimetrendsbythreetimeperiods(2004–2013;2013–2018;2020–2023).Thetrendsaresummarizedin

Fig.1

.

3.2.1.2004–2013

Theperiodbetween2004and2013wasmarkedbyasignificantdecreaseinsevereFI(?53.6%),butthistrendreversedin2013–2018(+43.8%).ThegreatestdecreaseinsevereFIoccurredintheNortheast(?57.6%)amonghouseholdswherethereferencepersonwasaman(?57.6%)andself-identifiedaswhite(?58.1%)(2004–2013)(

Sal-

les-Costaetal.,2022

).

3.2.2.2013–2018

Afterasignificantreductionfrom2004to2013,severeFIincreasedsharplyatsomepointbetween2013and2018.Duringthisperiodan8-itemversionofEBIAwasappliedin2015,2016and2017throughtheGallup/FAOpollsclearlydocumentingthatby2015severeFIwasalreadyrapidlyincreasing(

Sousaetal.,2019

)whichcoincideswiththebeginningofthereductionoreliminationoffoodsecurityandothersocialprotectionprograms(

CivilSocietyWorkingGroupforthe2030

SDGAgenda,2017

;Salles-Costaetal.,2022)inthecontextofthede-cisiontoproceedwithaconstitutionalamendmenttoheavilyrestrictinvestmentsinsocialpolicies

(RoznaiandCamargoKreuz,2018

).

3

R.Prez-Escamillaetal.GlobalFoodSecurity41(2024)100766

Fig.1.Moderateandseverehouseholdfoodinsecurity(HFI)prevalenceovertimeinBrazil.Nationallyrepresentativesurveys,2004–2022.FItrackedwiththe

EscalaBrasileiradeSeguran?aAlimentar(EBIA).

3.2.3.2020–2023

IntheheelsofthealreadyworseningFIsituationpriortothepandemic,duringtheacutephaseoftheCOVID-19pandemic19.1millionpeopleexperiencedsevereFIin2020,nearlytwicethe10millionwhodidsoin2018(

RedePENSSAN,2020

).In2022thenumberofpeopleexperiencingsevereFIincreasedtoastaggering31.1million(

RedePENSSAN,2022

).

3.3.FIinequitiestrends

Inaddition,inequitiesinsevereFIremainedacrossBrazilianregions,anddifferentpatternswerefoundbetween2004and2013(

Salles-Costa

etal.,2022

).Specifically,theNorthandNortheastregionscontinuedexperiencingthehighestprevalenceofsevereFIwhichworsenedevenmoreby2018,erasingthepreviousadvances.ItwasnoticeablethatjustunderhalfofresidentsintheNorthandNortheastregionshadfullandregularaccesstofood.TheNorthregionincludesthestatescoveredbytheAmazonrainforest,whichistheareainthecountrywiththehighestproportionoftraditionalcommunities,anditalsoincludescommunitiesformedbyfugitiveslaves,knownasquilombos.Amongthelatter,acensusmeasuringfoodinsecuritycarriedoutin2011documentedthat47.8%oftheirfamilieslivedwithsevereFIwithmorethan60%expe-riencingitintheNorthregionofthecountry(

Gubertetal.,2017a

).

Anothercharacteristicoftheseregionsisthepresenceofstrongso-cialinequalitiesrelatedtoreducedaccesstobasicsanitationandpotablewaterwhichisamajordeterminantofFI(

Youngetal.,2021

).House-holdsintheseregionswere4timesmorelikelytoexperiencesevereFIthanhouseholdsinthemoredevelopedregionsofthecountry,i.e.,theSouthandSoutheast.SevereFIwas3timesmoreprevalentintheNortheast–ahistorically,socioeconomically,andenvironmentallyvulnerablesemiaridregion–thaninotherregions.Foodinsecurityalsoaffectedmanyfamiliesinthebetter-offregionsofBrazil.In2018,>1.3millionhouseholdscomprising~5millionpeopleexperiencedsevereFIintheSouthandSoutheastregions.

TheincreaseinsevereFIfrom2013to2018occurredinbothruralandurbanareas.TheNorthandMidwestregionshadthehighestrelativeincreasesintheprevalenceofsevereFI.ThehighestrelativeincreasesinsevereFIoccurredinhouseholdswith7ormoreresidents,thoseheadedbywomen,thosewithblackandmixed-racemembers,andthosewithhouseholdmembersbetween5and49yold.

ThesociodemographiccharacteristicsassociatedwithFIweresimilarbetweenthetwoperiodsincludedinthestudyexaminingFI

trendsbetween2004and2018(

Salles-Costaetal.,2022

).SevereFIwasconsistentlyhigherinhouseholdswithahigherdensityofresidents,withlowfamilypercapitaincome,andheadedbyafemale,whoself-identifiedherselfasbeingblackorofmixedrace(

Santosetal.,

2022,2023

).Householdswith≥1ofthesecharacteristicsexperiencedastrongreductioninsevereFIbetween2004and2013,followedbyastrongreboundbetween2013and2018.

Insummary,thedatashowedthatintheperiodof2004–2013,therewasamajorimprovementinfoodsecurityinBrazil,especiallyamongthemostsocio-economicallyvulnerablehouseholds.Bycontrast,intheperiodof2013–2018,therewasanincreaseinsevereFI.DuringtheacutephaseoftheCOVID-9pandemictheprevalenceofFIskyrocketedinthecontextofstronginequitiesdetectedatbothregionalandindi-viduallevels.

3.4.UsefulnessofEBIAforpolicymakers

Inthispaper,foodsecuritygovernanceisdefinedas‘Formalandinformalrulesandprocessesthroughwhichinterestsarearticulated,anddecisionsrelevanttofoodsecurityinacountryaremade,imple-mentedandenforcedonbehalfofmembersofsociety’(

Prez-Escamilla,

2012

).Basedonthisdefinition,thissectionpresentsevidencerelatedtotheusefulnessofEBIAforfoodsecuritypolicymakingandgovernancesince2003.

3.4.1.SMARTcriteria

OftheSMARTcriteriausedtojudgetheutilityofindicators,FIexperiencescalessuchasEBIAhaveshowntobespecific(andvalid),measurable(frequentdatacollection),achievable(technicallypossible),andtimely(rapidapplicationandsensitivetochangesincludingsea-sonalityandpre/postprogramimplementation)(

Prez-Escamillaetal.,

2017

,

2020

).However,studiesarestillneededtofurtherexaminethereliability(replicabilityorprecision)ofFIexperiencescaleswhenappliedrepeatedlyinprospectivestudies(

Mohammadietal.,2012

).

TherearefourreasonswhyFIexperiencescalesappeartohavepropertieslikelytocontributetowardsimprovedfoodandnutritionsecuritygovernance.First,thesescalescanfacilitateclear,participatory,andresponsiveplanning,decisionmakingandimplementation.Second,theycanhelpdevelop/overseeefficient,effective,transparent,andaccountableinstitutions.Third,theycanprovidetransparencytofostermoreequityinresourceallocationandprogramdelivery.Fourth,theycanhelpdevelopandsustainwell-coordinatedeffectivepolicies,and

R.Prez-Escamillaetal.GlobalFoodSecurity41(2024)100766

4

actions.ThefollowingsectionexaminesthecasestudyofEBIAtoillustratehowFIexperiencescalescanhelpimprovefoodandnutritionsecuritygovernance.

3.4.2.Programtargeting

EBIAhasbeeninstrumentalforthegenerationoftheFI/hungermapsatdifferentadministrativelevelsthathavehelpedimprovethetargetinganddeliveryoffoodandsocialprotectionprograms.Indeed,atthelocalormunicipallevel,EBIAHFIhavebeenpredictedwithdatafromna-tionalsurveys(

Gubertetal.,2017b

).Furthermore,EBIAhasnowbeenshowntobestronglyvalidwhenappliedatthemunicipallevelbylocalteamsofinterviewers

(deToledoViannaetal.,2012

;

Gubertetal.,

2017b

).ImportantlyastudyconductedinNortheastBrazildemon-stratedthatEBIAhadastrongpotentialtohelptrackFIlongitudinallythroughitsapplicationatthemunicipallevel(deAraújoPalmeiraetal.,2021;

deToledoViannaetal.,2012

;

Palmeiraetal.,2020

).

3.4.3.Policyinvestmentsevaluation

Aspreviouslyreported,followingahighlyinclusiveprocessofadaptationandvalidationoftheUSHouseholdFoodSecuritySurveyModuleinBrazil(

Prez-Escamillaetal.,2004

;

Salles-Costaetal.,2022

;

Segall-Corraetal.,2009

),thecountrywasabletoincludeEBIAinnationalsurveyssince2004(

Segall-Corraetal.,2010

).Asaresult,thankstoEBIA,Brazilwasabletodocumenta25%decreaseintheprevalenceofhunger(severeFI)atanationallevelbetween2004and2009(

Keppleetal.,2012

,

Prez-Escamilla,2012

)withsignificantim-provementsalsooccurringinthepoorestregionsofthecountry.Asdescribedabove,thistrendcontinueduntilabout2015.Thesefindingshavebeenattributedinlargemeasuretothepositiveeconomicgrowththatthecountrywasexperiencingatthetimealongwiththe‘ZeroHunger’strategythatincludedabout30differentspecificpro-grams/actionsinvolving19ministriesandothergovernmentbodiesaswellasotherequitablesocialandeconomicpolicies(

Keppleetal.,2012

;

Salles-Costaetal.,2022

;

Schmitzetal.,2011

).Indeed,whereasextremepovertyalleviationthroughthe‘BolsaFamilia’conditionalcashtransferprogramhasreceivedthemostattentionfromthe‘ZeroHunger’policy,otherstrategiessuchastechnicalandfinancialsupportforfamilyagri-culture,foodbanks,andlow-costpopularrestaurantsorcommunitykitchensarelikelytohavealsoplayedarole

(Kepple,etal.,2012

;

Sal-

les-Costaetal.,2022

;

Schmitzetal.,2011

).

Between2004and2013TheBrazilianFoodandNutritionSecuritySystem(SISAN)stronglyreliedonwell-integratedmonitoring,man-agement,evaluation,horizontal(acrossfederallevelentitiesinvolved)andvertical(federal,state,andmunicipallevel)informationsystemsthatincludedEBIAasacentralcomponent.SISANwasofficiallylaunchedin2006oncetheNationalFoodSecurityLaw(LeiOrgnicadeSeguran?aAlimentareNutricional–LOSAN)wasapprovedbycongress.ThegoalsofSISANincluded:(a)formulationandimplementationoffoodandnutritionsecuritypoliciesandprograms,(b)integrationofeffortsfromgovernmentandcivilsociety,and(c)promotion,moni-toring,anevaluationoffoodandnutritionsecuritynationwide.The2016LOSANlawwasdesignedtostronglyempowerTheNationalCouncilonFoodandNutritionSecurity(ConselhoNacionaldeSegur-an?aAlimentareNutricional–-CONSEA),anadvisorycouncildirectlylinkedwiththeexecutivebranchwithstrongrepresentationfromcivilsocietyaswellasgovernment.CONSEAwasmandatedtoorganizeandreportonthequadrennialNationalFoodandNutritionSecurityCon-ferencethatincludesrepresentationfromlocalandregionalfoodandnutritionsecuritycouncils.CONSEAplayedacentralrolemonitoringtheimplementationoffoodandnutritionsecurityactionsincoordina-tionwiththeInterministerialFoodandNutritionSecurityCouncil(CAISANforitsacronymPortuguese)formedby19ministriesandspe-cialsecretariats.EBIAwasincludedaspartofthesuiteofCONSEA’sFImonitoringindicators(

BrasilGovernment,2010

).

Governmentinstitutionsatthestateandlocalormunicipallevelsaswellasprivatenonprofitandothernongovernmentalorganizations

werealsokeySISANactors(

Kepple,etal.,2012

).SISANwasdesignedtocoordinatemultilevelandmultisectoralactivitiesthroughastructurefacilitatingsocialparticipation,decentralization,andthemonitoringandevaluationofitsactivities.Thisiswhyalow-costmonitoringandevaluationtoolswithSMARTpropertiessuchasEBIAwasselectedforinclusioninSISAN

(Prez-Escamilla,2012

).AsreportedbytheMinisterofSocialDevelopmentandHungerAbatementatthe35thUNStandingCommitteeonNutrition(SCN)sessions‘Oneimportantstep[fortheZeroHungerstrategy]wasthecreationin2004ofabaselinemeasuringthevariouslevelsofFIinBrazil,basedontheEBIA.Thiswillallowsubse-quentimpactevaluationsofBrazilianfoodandnutritionsecuritypol-icies.’(

Ananias,2008

).

SincethevalidationoftheEBIA,themeasurementofHFIinthePNAD(2004,2009,and2013)hascontributedtothediscussiononthedirectionthecountryshouldtakewhenplanningprogramsandinitia-tivestoguaranteefoodandnutritionsecurityfortheBrazilianpopula-tion.TheeffectivenessoftheseactionsisreflectedinthestrongreductioninFI,particularlyinitsmostsevereform,whichlastedforalmostadecade

(Salles-Costaetal.,2023

).

Indeed,throughEBIA,Brazilwasabletodevelopatimelybaseline(rightbeforethemassiveexpansionof‘FomeZero’strategiestookplace)andtodocumentthestrongandconsistentdownwardseculartrendsonhungerratesinthecountry.EvidencederivedfromtheEBIAalsohelpedconsolidatesupportforthe‘BolsaFamilia’programasitwasverylikelythatthisconditionalcashtransferprogramhadcontributedtothecountry’simprovementsinfoodsecurity,especiallyinthepoorestareasbeingheavilytargetedbytheprogram(

Keppleetal.,2012

;Segall-Corraetal.,2008).

EBIA’sestimateshavetrackedwellwithchangesinthesocio-economicconditionsoftheBrazilianpopulation(

Salles-Costaetal.,

2022

).Aspreviouslymentioned,thereweremajorreductionsinsevereFIinthecountrybetween2004and2013,aperiodthatwasmarkedbyfavorableeconomicandpoliticalconditions,alongwithanexpansionandqualityimprovementofpublicfoodandnutritionpolicies

(Vas-

concelosetal.,2019

).Thisnotonlyenabledgreateraccesstofoodinthepopulationbutalsoprotectedthemostvulnerablehouseholds,suchasthoseintheNorthandNortheastregions,withchildrenagedunder5yandwiththelowestincomes.Asindicatedby

Salles-Costaetal.(2022)

,between2004and2013,therewasindeeda30%increaseinaverageincomeintheemployedpopulation.Thispositiveeconomicoutcomewasreflectedinanincreaseof>60%intherealvalueoftheBrazilianminimumwage,coupledwiththereduct