Food
CARIB | Dec 2, 2021

More people going hungry in the Caribbean

/ Our Today

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Dr Julio Berdegue, deputy director general for LAC of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. (Photo: FAO.org)

The number of people going hungry in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is increasing and is a cause for concern says the United Nation’s Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).

A contributory factor may well be the impact of COVID-19 on developing economies in the region. Governments will have to find a way to address this crisis.

According to PAHO, hunger in the region is at its highest point since 2000, a 30 per cent increase from 2019 to 2020.

“We must say it load and clear. Latin America and the Caribbean is facing a critical situation in terms of food security. There has been an almost 79 per cent hike in the number of people living in hunger from 2014 to 2020,” said Dr Julio Berdegue, deputy director general for LAC of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

MORE INCLUSIVE FOOD SYSTEMS NEEDED

Rossana Polastri, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (IFAD) director for Latin America and the Caribbean, added: “Although the pandemic has exacerbated the situation, hunger has been on the rise since 2014. We must fix deep vulnerabilities in our food systems, make them more inclusive and sustainable and ensure they deliver wellbeing for the people that feed our societies.”

The UN’s Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2021 Report noted the prevalence of hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean is now 9.1 per cent , the highest it has been in the last 15 years, after rising by two percentage points between 2019 and 2020.

“This report shows the stark reality that we must face squarely to mitigate the situation for the most vulnerable population.”

Lola Castro, WFP regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean

What has particularly dogged the Caribbean is the inability to rely on home grown food with Jamaica’s food importation bill this year likely to run close to US$900 million.

In the region, food insecurity (people who run out of food or have gone a day or more without eating) reached 14 per cent in 2020, a total of 92.8 million, up from 47.6 million in 2014. This predominantly affects women, with the report revealing 41.8 per cent of women in the region experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity compared with 32.2 per cent of men.

(Photo: Ubirajara Machado/MDA/IFAD)

“This report shows the stark reality that we must face squarely to mitigate the situation for the most vulnerable population. By expanding national social protection systems, for example governments can reach those most in need with assistance to help them get through these difficult times,” said Lola Castro, WFP regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

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