some report cutting back on energy use for food preparation (Armenia), reducing their food consumption (Georgia, Armenia—see Box 4.8), and limiting their dietary choices (Ukraine). Having access to a land plot for household food production is considered by many to be essential to meet their food needs (Tajikistan). In Moldova survey respondents count hunger among the worst aspects of their poverty. In Latvia, even housing vouchers were said to be sold for food.

# **Box 4.8.  Strategies of the extreme poor for reducing food consumption in urban areas in Armenia**

To adapt to insufficient food supplies, many of the poorest households, especially in urban areas, limit their food intake through out the year. Many families cut down on the amount they eat by reducing the number of meals eaten per day to commonly two meals a day or less in time of crisis. Rationing food is another adaptive mechanism that was widespread. One household explained it has a regimen of two potatoes per meal per person for the rest of the winter. Another household had an intricate system of rationing bread with the bed-ridden grandfather posted as the guardian of the bread bag. Households also cope by “tricking their stomachs” with warm “tea” without tealeaves or sugar, or drinking thin soups of boiled water and dried herbs.

Source: Elizabeth Gomart, “Social Assessment of the Poorest of the Poor in Armenia.” 1997.

In the ECA countries which are suffering the most prolonged economic dislocation and poverty, malnutrition has become a manifestation of poverty. In Kazakhstan the incidence of wasting is slightly higher in urban than in rural areas, although stunting is much greater among rural children.<sup>50</sup> Malnourishment was also found to be a serious problem in urban areas of Tajikistan in 1998.<sup>51</sup> Even in Romania, nutrition-poverty was found to be more prevalent among the urban poor (50 percent) than among the rural poor (28 percent).<sup>52</sup>

# **4.4. Social Capital, empowerment and security**

With the increase in income poverty and other deprivations, and with large scale internal and external migrations, the ECA countries are experiencing unprecedented stresses to their traditional social capital assets and attendant social problems. Residents in urban areas report feeling inadequately supported by social networks and little trust in government. Growing insecurity and worsening public safety no doubt contribute to the urban poor’s perceptions of disempowerment and social exclusion.

In Romania, rural households report having more “trust in most people” than do urban households. There is a large gap between urban and rural households regarding trust in either local or national officials, with the rural respondents reporting higher trust. Proximity to government does not necessarily entail service-urban residents and the rich are more likely to report having offered bribes to city hall employees. Cooperation with neighbors is higher for rural than urban respondents, although urban households tend to belong to more associations. This may indicate that the rural households have deeper and more functional ties to social networks than their urban counterparts do.<sup>53</sup> Contributing money or time to work on community projects is also more common among rural than urban localities.<sup>54</sup> In qualitative poverty surveys assistance to the urban poor is reported to come mainly from nongovernmental organizations, but even those are often lacking. Women respondents in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) said they relied on neither government nor NGOs for employment assistance, and 90 percent of those surveyed knew of no women’s organizations.<sup>55</sup> In Tajikistan, the urban Mahallah

> 50 “Tracking Non-Income Dimensions of Poverty in ECA”, table 2.1. 51 World Bank, Republic of Tajikistan Poverty Assessment, Report No. 20285-TJ, June 29, 2000, p. 22. 52 Romania Poverty Assessment 2003, p. 20.

> 53 Romania Poverty Assessment 2003, p. 24, 26. 54 “Mapped In or Mapped Out? The Romanian Poor in Inter-Household and Community Networks,” p. 36. 55 When Things Fall Apart, p. 41.

56