Economic Sanctions Affecting Household Food and Nutrition Security and Policies to Cope With Them: A Systematic Review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Research Department of Food and Nutrition Policy and Planning, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Nutrition Research, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Community Nutrition, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

5 Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

6 Food, Halal and Agricultural Products Research Group, Research Center of Food Technology and Agricultural Products, Standard Research Institute, Karaj, Iran

7 Interdisciplinary Research and Practice Division, School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

Abstract

Background 
This review was conducted to identify the impact of economic sanctions on household food and nutrition security and policies to cope with them in countries exposed to sanctions.

Methods 
The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines 2020 were used to identify, select, appraise, and synthesize studies. Electronic databases in addition to Persian ones have been systematically searched for all related documents published until March 2022. Exclusion criteria were: lack of data related to food insecurity in countries subject to sanction and very low quality of the article. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal checklists. The results were presented as qualitative and quantitative syntheses.

Results 
Of 1428 identified studies, 36 publications remained in the review, which belong to Iran (n = 8), Cuba (n = 8), Russia (n = 7), Iraq (n = 7), and Haiti (n = 6), respectively. Declining gross domestic product (GDP), devaluation of the national currency, and the quality of food, increase in inflation, unemployment, and consumer prices, infant and under 5 years mortality, energy, and protein deficiency, and the poverty rate were reported as sanction consequences. The most important strategies to improve food security were the humanitarian assistance provided by the international community (Haiti), equity and priority for vulnerable groups mainly by expanding the healthcare system (Cuba), adopting a food ration system in the oil-for-food program, and fixing the price of food baskets (Iraq), import substitution and self-sufficiency (Russia), support domestic production, direct and indirect support and compensation packages for vulnerable households (the approach of resistance economy in Iran).

Conclusion 
Due to the heterogeneity of studies, meta-analysis was not possible. Since inadequate physical and economic food access caused by sanctions affects especially disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, planning to improve food security and providing support packages for these groups seems necessary.

Keywords

References

  1. Garfield R. The Impact of Economic Sanctions on Health and Well-being. London, United Kingdom: Relief and Rehabilitation Network (RRN), Overseas Development Institute; 1999.
  2. Choonara I. Economic sanctions and child health. Med Confl Surviv. 2013;29(2):93-98. doi:1080/13623699.2012.739048
  3. Fernandezi Palacios J, Gharib Abadi K, Escamillo J. Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCMs) and Their Impacts. Venezuela: Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; 2018.
  4. Gorji A. Sanctions against Iran: the impact on health services. Iran J Public Health. 2014;43(3):381-382.
  5. Koc M, Jernigan C, Das R. Food security and food sovereignty in Iraq: the impact of war and sanctions on the civilian population. Food Cult Soc. 2007;10(2):317-348. doi:2752/155280107x211467
  6. Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2021;10(1):89. doi:1186/s13643-021-01626-4
  7. Aromataris E, Munn Z. Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers' Manual. The Joanna Briggs Institute; 2017.
  8. Chelala C. Fighting for survival. BMJ. 1994;309(6953):525-526. doi:1136/bmj.309.6953.525
  9. Mulder-Sibanda M. Nutritional status of Haitian children, 1978-1995: deleterious consequences of political instability and international sanctions. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 1998;4(5):346-349. doi:1590/s1020-49891998001100008
  10. Gibbons E, Garfield R. The impact of economic sanctions on health and human rights in Haiti, 1991-1994. Am J Public Health. 1999;89(10):1499-1504. doi:2105/ajph.89.10.1499
  11. Farmer P, Fawzi MC, Nevil P. Unjust embargo of aid for Haiti. Lancet. 2003;361(9355):420-423. doi:1016/s0140-6736(03)12380-x
  12. Reid BC, Psoter WJ, Gebrian B, Wang MQ. The effect of an international embargo on malnutrition and childhood mortality in rural Haiti. Int J Health Serv. 2007;37(3):501-513. doi:2190/mr65-2605-1285-0406
  13. Drèze J, Gazdar H. Hunger and poverty in Iraq, 1991. World Dev. 1992;20(7):921-945. doi:1016/0305-750x(92)90121-b
  14. Garfield R. Morbidity and Mortality Among Iraqi Children from 1990 Through 1998: Assessing the Impact of the Gulf War and Economic Sanctions. New York, USA: Columbia University; 1999.
  15. Popal GR. Impact of sanctions on the population of Iraq. East Mediterr Health J. 2000;6(4):791-795.
  16. Saleh MM. Towards facing global famine: modeling food distribution according to Iraqi case. Eur Sci J. 2015;1:660-666.
  17. Saleh MM. Food ration system prevented eminent famine in Iraq during 1990-2003 sanction. Br J Humanit Soc Sci. 2015;13(2):19-24.
  18. Woertz E. Iraq under UN embargo, 1990-2003: food security, agriculture, and regime survival. Middle East J. 2019;73(1):92-111. doi:3751/73.1.15
  19. Krivko M, Smutka L, Strielkowski W. Food security and the trade via lenses of sanctions. J Secur Sustain Issues. 2019;8(4):815-826. doi:9770/jssi.2019.8.4(22)
  20. Kulikov IM, Minakov IA. Food security: problems and prospects in Russia. Scientific Papers Series Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development. 2019;19(4):141-148.
  21. Volchkova N, Kuznetsova P. How much do counter-sanctions cost: well-being analysis. Journal of the New Economic Association. 2019;43(3):173-183. doi:31737/2221-2264-2019-43-3-9
  22. Olgarenko GV, Ugryumova AA, Kapustina TA, Zamahovsky MP. Problems and prospects of food security in the regions of the Russian Federation. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci. 2019;317(1):012012. doi:1088/1755-1315/317/1/012012
  23. Boldyreva IA, Rudash JV. Customs tools to ensure food security in Russia. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci. 2019;272(3):032127. doi:1088/1755-1315/272/3/032127
  24. Voronin B, Potekhin N, Chupina I, et al. Consequences of economic sanctions for food security of Russia. J Environ Manag Tour. 2018;9(32):1799-1804. doi:14505/jemt.v9.8(32).20
  25. Zhiryaeva EV. Food caught in the sanctions war: is food security a casualty? Administrative Consulting. 2017;9(9):117-133. doi:22394/1726-1139-2017-9-117-133
  26. Wengle S. The domestic effects of the Russian food embargo. Demokratizatsiya. 2016;24(3):281-289.
  27. Kuntz D. The politics of suffering: the impact of the U.S. embargo on the health of the Cuban people. Report of a fact-finding trip to Cuba, June 6-11, 1993. Int J Health Serv. 1994;24(1):161-179. doi:2190/l6vn-57rr-aflk-xw90
  28. Garfield R, Santana S. The impact of the economic crisis and the US embargo on health in Cuba. Am J Public Health. 1997;87(1):15-20. doi:2105/ajph.87.1.15
  29. Chaplowe SG. Havana's popular gardens: sustainable prospects for urban agriculture. Environmentalist. 1998;18(1):47-57. doi:1023/a:1006582201985
  30. Warwick H. Cuba's organic revolution. Ecologist. 1999;29(8):457-460.
  31. Peña-Díaz J. Cuba's urban landscape needs a second round of innovation for health. MEDICC Rev. 2015;17(3):48. doi:37757/mr2015.v17.n3.10
  32. Pérez R. The public health sector and nutrition in Cuba. MEDICC Rev. 2009;11(4):6-8.
  33. Rosset PM, Sosa BM, Jaime AM, Lozano DR. The Campesino-to-Campesino agroecology movement of ANAP in Cuba: social process methodology in the construction of sustainable peasant agriculture and food sovereignty. J Peasant Stud. 2011;38(1):161-191. doi:1080/03066150.2010.538584
  34. Drain PK, Barry M. Global health. Fifty years of U.S. embargo: Cuba's health outcomes and lessons. Science. 2010;328(5978):572-573. doi:1126/science.1189680
  35. Hejazi J, Emamgholipour S. The effects of the re-imposition of US sanctions on food security in Iran. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2022;11(5):651-657. doi:34172/ijhpm.2020.207
  36. Rustamovich KM. The impact of economic sanctions on well-being of vulnerable populations of target countries. Int J Econ Finance Sustain Dev. 2019;1(1):17-20.
  37. Aloosh M, Salavati A, Aloosh A. Economic sanctions threaten population health: the case of Iran. Public Health. 2019;169:10-13. doi:1016/j.puhe.2019.01.006
  38. Heidary K. Evaluation the impact of US sanctions on food security in Iranian households. Social Security Journal. 2018;14(3):35-52. [Persian].
  39. Kokabisaghi F. Assessment of the effects of economic sanctions on Iranians' right to health by using human rights impact assessment tool: a systematic review. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2018;7(5):374-393. doi:15171/ijhpm.2017.147
  40. Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare. Welfare programs to mitigate the effects of sanction. Social Security Journal. 2018;14(3):15-34. [Persian].
  41. Toghyani M, Derakhshan M. Analysis of the factors of impact of economic sanctions on Iran and solutions to cope with it. Rahbord. 2015;23(4):115-146. [Persian].
  42. Ziaei SM, Shirani Bidabadi F, Eshraghi F, Keramatzadeh A. Application of nonfood coping strategies in assessing in food security in rural areas of Gorgan. Agricultural Economics Research. 2013;5(3):83-97. [Persian].
  43. Ziaei SM, Shirani Bidabadi F, Eshraghi F, Keramatzadeh A. Study of Food Security Situation in Rural Areas of Gorgan County in Economic Sanction Condition. International E-Conference on Economy Under Sanctions; 2013; Babolsar, Iran, The University of Mazandaran.
  44. Korhonen I, Simola H, Solanko L. Sanctions, Counter-Sanctions and Russia: Effects on Economy, Trade and Finance. Helsinki, Finland: Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition (BOFIT); 2018.
  45. Fedoseeva S, Herrmann R. The price of sanctions: an empirical analysis of German export losses due to the Russian agricultural ban. Can J Agric Econ. 2019;67(4):417-431. doi:1111/cjag.12194
  46. Barry M. Effect of the U.S. embargo and economic decline on health in Cuba. Ann Intern Med. 2000;132(2):151-154. doi:7326/0003-4819-132-2-200001180-00010
  47. Román GC. Epidemic neuropathy in Cuba: a plea to end the United States economic embargo on a humanitarian basis. Neurology. 1994;44(10):1784-1786. doi:1212/wnl.44.10.1784
  48. Román GC. On politics and health: an epidemic of neurologic disease in Cuba. Ann Intern Med. 1995;122(7):530-533. doi:7326/0003-4819-122-7-199504010-00009
  49. Román GC. Epidemic neuropathy in Cuba: a public health problem related to the Cuban Democracy Act of the United States. Neuroepidemiology. 1998;17(3):111-115. doi:1159/000026161
  50. Ordúñez-García PO, Nieto FJ, Espinosa-Brito AD, Caballero B. Cuban epidemic neuropathy, 1991 to 1994: history repeats itself a century after the "amblyopia of the blockade". Am J Public Health. 1996;86(5):738-743. doi:2105/ajph.86.5.738
  51. Tucker K, Hedges TR. Food shortages and an epidemic of optic and peripheral neuropathy in Cuba. Nutr Rev. 1993;51(12):349-357. doi:1111/j.1753-4887.1993.tb03766.x
  52. Kirkpatrick AF. Role of the USA in shortage of food and medicine in Cuba. Lancet. 1996;348(9040):1489-1491. doi:1016/s0140-6736(96)07376-x
  53. Cox ME. Hunger games: or how the allied blockade in the First World War deprived German children of nutrition, and allied food aid subsequently saved them. Econ Hist Rev. 2015;68(2):600-631. doi:1111/ehr.12070
  54. Mahé LP. [Is the issue of European self-sufficiency in vegetal proteins definitely obsolete?]. Ol Corps Gras Lipides. 2005;12(3):196-202. doi:1051/ocl.2005.0196
  55. Schmidt T. Weapons embargo and war trade during the middle ages. Vierteljahrschr Soz Wirtschaftsgesch. 2006;93(1):23-33.
  56. Okaiyeto PO. Embargoes and corporate goals. Food Policy. 1983;8(2):154. doi:1016/0306-9192(83)90007-6
  57. Lindell E. US—Soviet grain embargoes: regulating the MNCs. Food Policy. 1982;7(3):240-246. doi:1016/0306-9192(82)90061-6
  58. Cella J. Line in the sand: the Ethio-Eritrean border. Harvard Int Rev. 2005;27(2):6-7.
  59. Bereketeab R. The morality of the U.N. Security Council sanctions against Eritrea: defensibility, political objectives, and consequences. Afr Stud Rev. 2013;56(2):145-161. doi:1017/asr.2013.46
  60. Madani K. Have international sanctions impacted Iran’s environment? World. 2021;2(2):231-252. doi:3390/world2020015
  61. Mersini E, Hyska J, Burazeri G. Evaluation of national food and nutrition policy in Albania. Zdr Varst. 2017;56(2):115-123. doi:1515/sjph-2017-0015
  62. Özdamar Ö, Shahin E. Consequences of economic sanctions: the state of the art and paths forward. Int Stud Rev. 2021;23(4):1646-1671. doi:1093/isr/viab029
  63. Gutmann J, Neuenkirch M, Neumeier F. Sanctioned to death? The impact of economic sanctions on life expectancy and its gender gap. J Dev Stud. 2021;57(1):139-162. doi:1080/00220388.2020.1746277
  64. Bessler M, Garfield R, Mc Hugh G. Sanctions Assessment Handbook: Assessing the Humanitarian Implications of Sanctions. New York: United Nations, Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC); 2004.
  65. Peksen D. When do imposed economic sanctions work? A critical review of the sanctions effectiveness literature. Def Peace Econ. 2019;30(6):635-647. doi:1080/10242694.2019.1625250
  66. Neuenkirch M, Neumeier F. The impact of US sanctions on poverty. J Dev Econ. 2016;121:110-119. doi:1016/j.jdeveco.2016.03.005
  67. Mohammadi-Nasrabadi F, Ghodsi D. Final Report of "Assessment and Analysis of Food Market in the Recent Decade in Iran (from 2006 to 2016)". Tehran, Iran: National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences; 2019.
  68. World Food Program. Food and Nutrition Security in Iran. Tehran, Iran, WFP Iran Country Office; 2016.
  69. Fulgoni VL 3rd, Wallace TC, Stylianou KS, Jolliet O. Calculating intake of dietary risk components used in the global burden of disease studies from the What We Eat in America/National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Nutrients. 2018;10(10):1441. doi:3390/nu10101441
  70. Mirmiran P, Fallah Ghohroudy A, Hosseinpour Niazi S, Ahmadi B, Nayeri F, Azizi F. Dietary patterns and non communicable disease among Iranian women: a systematic review. Womens Health Bull. 2014;1(3):e21358. doi:17795/whb-21358
  71. Montagnese C, Santarpia L, Iavarone F, et al. Food-based dietary guidelines around the world: eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Nutrients. 2019;11(6):1325. doi:3390/nu11061325
  72. Kim JY, Millen JV, Irwin A, Gershman J. Dying for Growth: Global Inequality and the Health of the Poor. Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press; 2000.
  73. Debarre A. Safeguarding Humanitarian Action in Sanctions Regimes. New York: International Peace Institute; 2019.
  74. Huvé S, Brubaker R, Day A, Hudáková Z. Enforcing UN Sanctions and Protecting Humanitarian Action: Towards a Coherent and Consistent Approach. New York: United Nations University; 2022.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 02 May 2022
  • Revise Date: 07 May 2023
  • Accept Date: 16 July 2023
  • First Publish Date: 17 July 2023

Share

How to cite

Statistics