A monthly sub-national Harmonized Food Insecurity Dataset for comprehensive analysis and predictive modeling
This dataset addresses the need for timely and comprehensive global data for food security experts, humanitarian agencies, and researchers to analyze conditions and develop predictive models, though it is incremental as it harmonizes existing sources.
The paper tackles the challenge of measuring food security comprehensively by introducing the Harmonized Food Insecurity Dataset (HFID), an open-source resource that consolidates four key data sources with monthly updates and extensive spatial-temporal coverage, providing a unified tool for analysis and predictive modeling.
Food security is a complex, multidimensional concept challenging to measure comprehensively. Effective anticipation, monitoring, and mitigation of food crises require timely and comprehensive global data. This paper introduces the Harmonized Food Insecurity Dataset (HFID), an open-source resource consolidating four key data sources: the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)/Cadre Harmonisé (CH) phases, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) IPC-compatible phases, and the World Food Program's (WFP) Food Consumption Score (FCS) and reduced Coping Strategy Index (rCSI). Updated monthly and using a common reference system for administrative units, the HFID offers extensive spatial and temporal coverage. It serves as a vital tool for food security experts and humanitarian agencies, providing a unified resource for analyzing food security conditions and highlighting global data disparities. The scientific community can also leverage the HFID to develop data-driven predictive models, enhancing the capacity to forecast and prevent future food crises.