Food insecurity among sub saharan african migrants living in istanbul: A mixed method study

In the past decade, an increasing number of Sub-Saharan Africans have arrived in Türkiye as migrants or asylum seekers. Though most of these migrants live in Istanbul, there are no official figures on the number of Sub-Saharan African migrants in the city. The problem of food insecurity is an important and persistent problem for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers worldwide. This study aims to investigate food insecurity (FI), associated factors and lived experiences regarding nutritional challenges for Sub-Saharan African migrants living in Istanbul. Using an exploratory sequential mixed methods design, we first collected data through face-to-face interviews with 108 Sub-Saharan immigrants in Istanbul and then conducted in-depth interviews with four immigrants (two women, wo men) who agreed to participate. In the quantitative part of the research, data collection was carried out face to face in two locations. The survey consisted of three sections: sociodemographic characteristics, migration experiences, and food insecurity status. Food insecurity was measured with the Food and Agriculture Organization's Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). In-depth interviews were conducted online. A combination of deductive and inductive coding was used and thematic analysis was applied. We used four main dimensions of FI as the analytical construct: availability, access, use, and stability. Fifty-four percent of the participants were women, the mean age was 31.7 (18-95) and 53.7% were single. Participants were from 21 different countries and the mean duration of stay in Istanbul was 34.1 months. Seventy percent of the participants stated that they had a source of income and 21.4% stated that their income was insufficient. Based on FIES, %65.7 of participants experienced food insecurity. The proportion of people experiencing food insecurity was higher among those with low income, those who reported income inadequacy, and those who had been hospitalized in the last 12 months. Age and gender was not associated with FI. The relationship between food insecurity and income has also emerged prominently in the qualitative part of our study. In the qualitative analysis, working conditions emerged as an important factor, especially in terms of healthy nutrition. Unlike the quantitative analysis, duration of stay emerged as an important theme in terms of food security, both through access to social networks and having sufficient income. Regarding access to traditional foods, almost all of the interviewees stated that the economic situation was the determining factor, otherwise they could find the traditional foods they were looking for. The results of our study show that economic access to food, rather than physical access, emerges as a barrier. It also shows that factors such as health status, length of stay and working conditions are interrelated. Studies with larger sample sizes will provide more in-depth information about the experience of food insecurity and related factors.