It is on this basis that GeoPoll conducted a Rapid Survey at the beginning of November to assess citizen awareness of GMOs, their perceptions on the government approval, information gaps, and concerns that need to be addressed. This article details the results of the survey.

Awareness and concern regarding GMO foods and the Kenya government approval

A big part of the population (86%) is aware of GMOs, likely because of the amount of discussion that has been ongoing since the government recently lifted the ban. Compared to a similar study on GMOs that GeoPoll conducted with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2014, this is a significant improvement on the 65% that stated some knowledge of GMOs at that time.

Of those that were aware of genetically modified foods, 91% have heard about the government approval. Just over half of respondents (51%) agree in varying levels with the government’s decision to approve GMOs, while 21% strongly disagree with the decision.

Asked if they are willing to consume GMO products, 43% are resolute that they are not personally willing to consume. Thirty-eight percent don’t mind and 19% are unsure.

Access to information about GMOs

These conflicting perceptions about GMO foods likely stem from a lack of information. In our study, 60% of respondents believe there isn’t enough information about GMO foods available to help the masses form a proper opinion.

The largest segment of respondents has gotten most of their information about GMOs via television. According to the Kenya Media Establishment Survey 2022, TV is one of the most accessed media channels overall, which may explain why it has the largest individual reach. However, online sources (social media and other websites) combine to provide the largest source of information about GMOs to a significant number of Kenyans. Given that online channels are largely unregulated, could this create an environment for fake news and misinformation which may further fuel unverified information and myths regarding GMOs?

How can GMO information be more believable? For many respondents, agricultural professionals (56%) and medical professionals (43%) are the most preferred sources of information about GMOs. The media and government come next, in that order.

Are GMO food products safe?

Over the course of human existence, food compositions have been changing. Genetic modification of food, however, is a relatively new technology. Officially, the first GMO technology was developed in 1973 with the first FDA regulation framework coming about a decade later.

Like anything new, there are conflicting viewpoints about many issues surrounding the use of GMO foods. One area that draws a lot of attention is whether they are safe to eat. Some studies in the past have attributed GMOs to health concerns, but they have mostly been discredited by health and biotechnology experts. In GeoPoll’s study, over half (51%) believe that GMOs are mostly unsafe for human consumption – 27% believe they are safe, while 22% need more information to make up their minds.

To gauge the level of concern regarding GMO foods, we asked respondents how concerned they are, if at all, about the consumption of GMO food products. The largest segment of the panel (37%) say they are “extremely concerned” with the level of concern steadily decreasing to just 8% that say they are “not concerned at all.”

Concerns about safety may stem from the supposed disadvantages of genetically modified foods cited by respondents. The largest proportion (59%) believe GMOs may lead to unexpected or harmful genetic changes, while 51% fear they can cause diseases such as cancer. Twenty-five percent of respondents claim GMOs have less nutritional value.

Several research sources indicate that GMOs have several benefits to nutrition, global food security, and the climate. According to the FAO, humans will need to produce 70% more food to adequately feed the global population by 2050, and innovative approaches such as genetically engineering our food will be required to solve this problem.

For respondents, the advantages cited most often are that genetically modified plants and animals grow faster (48%) and are more drought-and disease-resistant (43%) – hence better for Kenya’s food security. That follows GeoPoll’s study from 2014 in which 48% of respondents believed GMOs could have a high or very high impact on reducing hunger in Kenya. In this study, 27% also believe GMOs may be less expensive, which would be a significant advantage given the ballooning cost of living. Another 24% like that GMOs typically use less pesticides.

The conversation about genetically modified foods is here and debates will be swirling for some time. Indications from this survey are that GMOs are highly misunderstood. For GMOs to take off, not just in Kenya, but in all nations where GMOs are still in infancy, it is imperative for governments, food and agricultural organizations, and the medical fraternity to heavily engage the masses, both in education and addressing their concerns.

In the meantime, food security and the quality of food remain important to most people. When we asked respondents if the food quality is better or worse than in the past, 57% said food is worse.

57% feel that food is generally worse now than in the past

About this GeoPoll survey

This Rapid Survey was run via the GeoPoll mobile application between 3^rd and 4^th of November 2022 in Kenya. The sample size was 708, composed of random App users between ages 18 and 60. Since the survey was randomly distributed, the results are slightly skewed towards younger, male respondents.

To get more details about rapid GeoPoll surveys or to conduct a scientific study on food security and agriculture, public health and nutrition, or other topics in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, please contact us.

The post GMO Foods in Kenya: Awareness and Perceptions – GeoPoll Report appeared first on GeoPoll.

To understand how people around the world are experiencing and coping with the cost-of-living crisis, GeoPoll conducted a survey in August 2022 in 9 countries from across Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The survey addressed a number of pressing topics related to the crisis, including:

• Changes in consumer income and financial welfare
• Changes in the costs of goods and services
• Food security
• Financial outlook and future concerns
• Financial coping strategies
• Perceptions of government response to the crisis
• Impact on upcoming elections
• Impact on mental health

Findings from the survey indicate that rising prices have impacted almost everyone. Most say prices have “increased a lot” in the past 6 months, reducing their family’s standard of living. The largest segment in all 9 countries say they are “extremely concerned” about rising prices, with more than half saying it has negatively impacted their mental health.

Many pin the blame for the crisis on government corruption and mismanagement. Disapproval of their government’s actions related to the crisis has already escalated into social unrest in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. If prices continue to rise as predicted, other developing nations may face the same risk.

Clearly, it is imperative for governments and policymakers to do everything in their power to slow the rising cost of living.

Click below to download GeoPoll’s full written report on the cost of living crisis or scroll down to view the survey data in the interactive dashboard.

Interactive Data Dashboard

Dive deeper into GeoPoll’s data on the global cost of living crisis using the interactive dashboard below. The dashboard provides responses to each question in the survey, filterable by country, age group, and gender.

Conduct Research Around the World with GeoPoll

In times of crisis and hardship, NGOs, governments, humanitarian groups, and other stakeholders in international development and humanitarian relief turn to GeoPoll for fast and affordable data collection. Our unique remote research system and methodologies, robust database, and direct integrations with mobile network operators enable us to reach affected populations in every corner of the world.

To learn more about GeoPoll’s capabilities and coverage, contact us today.

The post GeoPoll Reports: Global Cost of Living Crisis appeared first on GeoPoll.

Since releasing a report at the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to assist in the targeting of humanitarian relief, GeoPoll has continued to collect data from across the war-torn country using our mobile web research platform. A dashboard displaying round-the-clock updates of that data as well as trends over time is available here.

In this post we detail insights gleaned from more than 5,000 completed mobile web surveys.

Safety and Displacement

Mounting civilian casualties and the destruction of infrastructure has forced millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes seeking safety and services. The percentage of respondents in our study that have been forced to flee has steadily increased from 19% in early March to 44% on June 17. Even 44% likely underestimates the true scale of displacement caused by the war.

Over the past 4 months, more than 3 out of 4 respondents (79%) know someone who has been forced to move or flee. That segment grew to 85% in the first few weeks of June.

Those who have been forced to flee their homes have mostly stayed in Ukraine according to the majority of respondents (51%).

More than 1 in 3 respondents (36%), however, say most of the people they know who have been forced to flee have moved to another country. As of June 17, the UN has recorded more than 5 million individual refugees from Ukraine across Europe.

With Russia’s attack now focused primarily on the Donbas region, the percentage of respondents that have recently witnessed violence or conflict has dropped significantly. In early March, 38% of respondents said they had personally witnessed violence within the past few weeks. Less than half as many (15%) made the same claim on June 17.

Following the same pattern, the percentage of respondents that feel at least somewhat safe in their everyday life has almost doubled, rising from 25% in early March to 49% in mid-June. Only 13% (and 9% of women) say they feel “very safe,” however, illustrating the psychological toll the war is inflicting on almost all Ukrainians.

Access to Necessities

Eastern Ukraine remains the epicenter of the current conflict, though shelling and airstrikes persist in other regions causing widespread damage to infrastructure and essential services. In the past few weeks, the situation appears to be taking a turn for the worse. From the end of April until the middle of June, the percentage of respondents experiencing at least occasional shortages of necessities, such as fuel, water, and electricity, rose from 49% to 68%.

Communication services seem to be fairing slightly better. More than half of respondents (52%) say they have not experienced any phone or internet outages in the past few weeks – up from 32% in early March.

Food Security

The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that approximately 1 in 3 households in Ukraine are food insecure. In our study, the strategies families are using to cope with a lack of food or money to buy food have remained relatively consistent over the past four months. The chart to follow compares the results from GeoPoll’s initial survey conducted on March 5 to the data accumulated in the weeks and months since.

*       The chart above shows the percentage of respondents that used each coping strategy at least 1 out of the past 7 days.

Eating less preferred and/or less expensive food stands out as the most common coping strategy. The largest segment of respondents (23%) say they ate less preferred/less expensive food all 7 days in the past week.

News and Misinformation

Social media has proven a critical resource for gathering and disseminating information about the war in Ukraine. President Zelensky has effectively used the tool to inform and inspire his own people as well as to communicate with the outside world. Viral photos, videos, and information from government entities and civilians spread quickly across social media platforms, enabling millions to experience the war viscerally on their mobile phones.

In our ongoing research study, reliance on social media as a news source has increased steadily over the past few months. In early March, 69% of respondents reported using social media to follow the news. By April 17, 81% of respondents claimed to be using the platform.

Conversely, reliance on TV as a news source has dropped from 66% in early March to 48% in mid-June. The use of websites has oscillated above and below 50%.

Ukrainians are not the only ones using social media. Russian state media and supporters are leveraging the platform to spread misinformation. Although most social media services have taken steps to remove Russian misinformation, Telegram, which is widely used in both Russia and Ukraine, has not.

The percentage of respondents in Ukraine that had witnessed Russian misinformation campaigns and news was already high in the first week of March at 73%. Since then, it has risen to 78%.

Humanitarian Aid

Heavy fighting and restrictions from authorities have made it difficult for humanitarian organizations to reach certain areas in Ukraine. Still, the percentage of respondents in our study that say humanitarian aid organizations are currently in their area to provide relief has climbed from 60% in early March to 82% on June 17.

Although more respondents are now aware of the presence of aid in their area, most believe the amount of aid available has either stayed the same (46%) or decreased (34%) in the past few weeks. In early March, most respondents said the amount of aid available was increasing (59%).

The percentage of respondents that claim to have received aid in the form of food, money, water or other supplies has more than doubled since March. On March 5, only 13% of respondents said that they or their immediate family had received aid in the past few weeks. Since April 1, that segment has never dropped below 30%.

The UN and its humanitarian partners report having reached more than 8.8 million people across Ukraine since the war started. As the situation continues to deteriorate, particularly in the Donbas region, more aid and life-saving assistance are desperately needed.

Conducting Research for Humanitarian Relief

Gathering information on the ground in Ukraine is critical for assessing humanitarian needs and developing action plans for aid assistance. GeoPoll has extensive experience conducting research in times of conflict and crisis using our remote mobile-based systems and methodologies. GeoPoll can facilitate custom surveys in Ukraine remotely using a variety of modes and deliver results in near real-time. Inquire about running your own custom survey in Ukraine, today.

To track our ongoing data collection in Ukraine, access our interactive data dashboard. The dashboard displays the full results from the ongoing survey, including responses to each question filterable by region, age group and gender, as well as trends over time.

The post GeoPoll Reports: Tracking the Situation On the Ground in Ukraine appeared first on GeoPoll.

Russian forces have reportedly damaged or destroyed hundreds of schools and hospitals and left many municipalities without electricity, water, or heating. The military encirclement of cities across Ukraine is preventing the evacuation of women and children, and blocking the delivery life-saving supplies, including food, water, and medicine. While Western governments rush to provide military support to bolster Ukraine’s resistance to the invasion, substantial funding and aid is needed to prevent the country from spiraling deeper into a humanitarian crisis.

To assess the situation on the ground in Ukraine and assist in the targeting of humanitarian relief, GeoPoll conducted a survey in the first week of March 2022. The survey addressed a number of urgent topics, including:

• Personal safety and displacement
• Access to essential services (electricity, fuel, water)
• Communications outages
• Food security
• News platforms and Russian misinformation
• Humanitarian aid presence

Preliminary insights from the survey data are detailed in this post. To view the full results of the study, filterable by question, region, gender, and age group, scroll down to the Interactive Data Dashboard.

A list of organizations that are soliciting donations to help Ukrainians is included at the end of this post.

Methodology

The study questionnaire was developed by GeoPoll researchers and translated into Ukrainian. The survey was conducted using GeoPoll’s mobile web platform and fielded in a single day, gathering a sample size of 400 respondents, which provides a 5% margin of error and a 95% confidence interval.

The diverse sample includes a gender composition of 49% females and 51% males; an age breakdown of 11% ages 18-24, 26% ages 25-34, and 63% ages 35 and older; and representation from every region (ADM1) within Ukraine. For more detailed sample breakdowns please email us at [email protected].

To note, GeoPoll is continuing ongoing data collection in Ukraine using multiple research modes despite the access challenges.

Personal Safety and Displacement

As the violence in Ukraine intensifies and spreads, the human cost of the conflict continues to rise. The United Nations rights body (OHCHR) reports more than 1,200 confirmed civilian casualties in the first few weeks of fighting alone – but warns that the actual figures are likely considerably higher.

Although the fighting so far has primarily centered on the Eastern half of Ukraine, 67% of respondents in our study say they feel at least “somewhat unsafe” in their everyday life. More than one in three females (36%) feel “very unsafe” compared to 21% of males.

That only 6% overall feel “very safe” in their everyday life suggests a nation under acute stress due to the conflict.

One in four respondents (25%) have already personally witnessed violence. This violence and the expectation of violence help to explain why 18% have decided to flee their homes.

A significantly higher percentage (79%) say they know someone who has been forced to move or flee recently due to the conflict, painting a picture of what the UN high commissioner for refugees has called, “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.” This massive displacement is particularly dangerous for women and children who face a heightened risk of violence and exploitation.

The majority of respondents in our study (59%) say most of the people they know who have fled their homes have stayed within Ukraine (internally displaced). Most Ukrainian men ages 18-60 are currently banned from leaving the country, in anticipation that they may be called to fight.

Access to Essential Services

At the time of our study, 63% of respondents reported experiencing shortages of necessities, such as fuel, water, or electricity in the previous few weeks. That percentage is sure to increase as escalating Russian military strikes on large cities, including the capital city, Kyiv, inflict damage to essential infrastructure.

Food Security

The World Food Programme (WFP) reports severe shortages of food and water in embattled areas in Ukraine and in response has ramped up its food assistance operations. As the situation deteriorates, the agency is calling on the international community for a substantial increase in funding.

In our study, 84% of households say they ate less preferred and/or less expensive food at least 1 day in the past 7 days due to a lack of food or money to buy food. The largest segment (23%) say they ate less preferred food all 7 days.

*    The chart above shows the percentage of respondents that used each coping strategy at least 3 out of the past 7 days.

Almost half of respondents (46%) say they had to borrow food or rely on help from a friend or relative at least once in the past week, and more than half (60%) limited their portion sizes.

Another 61% reduced the number of meals eaten at least one day in the past week, with 18% reducing the number of meals eaten every single day. Most adults (56%) restricted their food consumption so children could eat – at least one of the 7 days last week.

News Platforms and Misinformation

In times of crisis, access to reliable news and information is critical. To help keep the public informed, both international war correspondents and Ukrainian journalists are putting their personal safety at risk to report on the situation on the ground. Several incidences of journalists being deliberately attacked by Russian forces in Ukraine have surfaced in the past few days.

Desperate for news, most of the respondents in our study are currently relying on multiple news platforms. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc.), which offers real-time updates that users can follow from anywhere via their phones, is the most used platform at 69%. Many Ukrainian government officials and other authorities have turned to social media, primarily Telegram, as their preferred communication medium.

TV comes in a close second to social media at 66%, followed by news websites at 57%.

On the other side of the conflict, Russia has tightened its already strict restrictions on independent media, instead pushing out government produced misinformation and propaganda in an effort to distort reality and lower morale.

Most Ukrainians in our study (73%) recognize and have witnessed the Russian government’s misinformation campaigns and news.

Humanitarian Aid

With the Russian invasion posing an immediate threat to the lives and livelihoods of millions of Ukrainian civilians, humanitarian aid agencies are scaling up their response to the crisis.

Despite reports of Russian forces blocking the delivery of supplies into encircled and embattled cities, 68% of respondents claim that humanitarian aid organizations are currently in their area to provide relief. Most (59%) have noticed an increase in aid presence in the past few weeks.

So far, only 13% of respondents say they or their immediate family have received international aid in the form of food, money, water, or other supplies. As the crisis deepens, however, more and more Ukrainians are likely to find themselves in dire need of humanitarian support.

Following is a list of humanitarian aid organizations that are soliciting donations to help Ukrainians.

• Doctors Without Borders
• International Committee of the Red Cross
• Project Hope
• UNICEF
• World Food Programme
• World Central Kitchen

Interactive Data Dashboard

Dive deeper into the full results from this study using the interactive dashboard below. The dashboard provides responses to each question in the survey, filterable by region, age group, and gender.

Conduct Research in Ukraine

GeoPoll has extensive experience conducting research in vulnerable areas through remote mobile-based methodologies. In times when it is otherwise impossible to get information from people on the ground, remote data collection can play a pivotal role in capturing the sentiment and realities in hard-to-reach locations.

To learn more about GeoPoll’s capabilities in Ukraine and around the world, please contact us.

The post GeoPoll Reports: Russian Invasion of Ukraine appeared first on GeoPoll.

In August of 2014, as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was spreading, the WFP once again partnered with GeoPoll to conduct food security surveys in Ebola-affected countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Ebola is likely to have long-term effects on food security, and mobile surveys allow WFP to quickly collect vital data on food prices, wages, and more.SolutionWFP and GeoPoll will send mobile surveys in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea over three months: September, October, and November 2014, to gather common indicators of food security, plus data on food prices and wages. GeoPoll and the WFP have worked together to adapt the reduced Coping Strategies Index (rCSI) for the mobile phone, and in previous studies have found no significant difference in rCSI results collected through mobile surveys vs. face-to-face surveys.ResultsThe first round of data released is from Sierra Leone, and indicates that food security in the Ebola-epicenters of Kailahun and Kenema has declined since the outbreak began. People living in these areas are using “severe” food coping strategies more frequently than those in the surrounding areas, meaning they are restricting meal size and buying less expensive foods than they normally would. The Sierra Leone surveys, conducted by text message, also found that casual wages in the east of Sierra Leone have dropped, likely contributing to the poor food security situation.

Food prices in the east of Sierra Leone are not showing major differences from prices in other regions of Sierra Leone, however WFP will continue to monitor price trends as surveys continue.Key Points

• WFP And GeoPoll Adapted Key Food Security Surveys For The Mobile Phone.
• Currently Monitoring Food Security, Food Prices, And Wages In Ebola-Affected Areas In Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea.
• Initial Results Found That Ebola-Epicenters In Sierra Leone Are Worse Off In Terms Of Food Security Than Surrounding Areas.

[ insert form here ]Download Complete Report

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The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world’s largest hunger-fighting agency. In order to assess food security situations across the globe, WFP gathers and analyzes food security data using a variety of technologies, including face-to-face data collection. Since 2013 WFP has been working with GeoPoll to send food security surveys through the mobile phone, allowing for remote data collection in regions where it is unsafe or difficult to send on-the-ground researchers. GeoPoll and the WFP initially conducted food security surveys in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo during a time of conflict, and ongoing surveys are conducted in several other countries throughout Africa.

In August of 2014, as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was spreading, the WFP once again partnered with GeoPoll to conduct food security surveys in Ebola-affected countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Ebola is likely to have long-term effects on food security, and mobile surveys allow WFP to quickly collect vital data on food prices, wages, and more.

Solution

WFP and GeoPoll will send mobile surveys in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea over three months: September, October, and November 2014, to gather common indicators of food security, plus data on food prices and wages. GeoPoll and the WFP have worked together to adapt the reduced Coping Strategies Index (rCSI) for the mobile phone, and in previous studies have found no significant difference in rCSI results collected through mobile surveys vs. face-to-face surveys.

Results

The first round of data released is from Sierra Leone, and indicates that food security in the Ebola-epicenters of Kailahun and Kenema has declined since the outbreak began. People living in these areas are using “severe” food coping strategies more frequently than those in the surrounding areas, meaning they are restricting meal size and buying less expensive foods than they normally would. The Sierra Leone surveys, conducted by text message, also found that casual wages in the east of Sierra Leone have dropped, likely contributing to the poor food security situation.

Food prices in the east of Sierra Leone are not showing major differences from prices in other regions of Sierra Leone, however WFP will continue to monitor price trends as surveys continue.

The post Remote Data Collection Aids The WFP’s Ebola Efforts appeared first on GeoPoll.