2023-11-09 20:32:06
The new United Nations report indicates that 6.5% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean suffers from hunger, that is, 43.2 million people.
Although this figure represents a slight improvement of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous measurement, The prevalence of hunger in the region is still 0.9 percentage points above 2019 recordsprior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, the scenario is disparate at the subregional level. In South America, the number of people suffering from hunger fell by 3.5 million between 2021 and 2022. However, there are 6 million additional undernourished people compared to the pre-COVID-19 scenario.
For its part, in Mesoamerica, 9.1 million people suffered from hunger in 2022, which means a prevalence of 5.1%. This figure does not account for any significant variation with respect to the previous measurement.
The scenario is different in the Caribbean. In this subregion, 7.2 million people experienced hunger in 2022, with a prevalence of 16.3%. Compared to 2021, this number increased by 700,000, and between 2019 and 2022, the increase was one million people, with the highest prevalence being in Haiti.
“The hunger figures in our region continue to be worrying. We see how we are moving further and further away from fulfilling the 2030 agenda and we have not yet managed to improve the figures prior to the crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our region has persistent challenges such as inequality, poverty and climate change, which have reversed progress in the fight once morest hunger in at least 13 years. This scenario forces us to work together and act as soon as possible,” said Mario Lubetkin, Deputy Director General and FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean.
For her part, Lola Castro, Regional Director of the World Food Program (WFP), assured that “it is necessary to keep people at the center of the set of solutions once morest food insecurity and malnutrition, particularly in the current context of climate emergency. In support of the governments of the region, we are promoting actions that protect the most vulnerable people and transform food systems, so that they are more resilient, in addition to accompanying efforts through holistic public policies to promote healthy and affordable diets.”
Food insecurity continues to increase in the region
The report also shows that, in 2022, 247.8 million people in the region experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, that is, they were forced to reduce the quality or quantity of the food they consumed, or even went without food. , they went hungry and, in the most extreme case, went days without eating, putting their health and well-being at serious risk. This figure means a decrease of 16.5 million compared to 2021.
In South America, more than a third (36.4%) of the population suffered from moderate or severe food insecurity. In Mesoamerica, the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity reached 34.5% in 2022, representing an increase of 0.4 percentage points, or 1.3 million additional people, compared to 2021. In the Caribbean, Meanwhile, during 2022, 60.6% of the population experienced moderate or severe food insecurity.
The United Nations report shows that the inequalities registered in Latin America and the Caribbean have a significant impact on the food security of the most vulnerable people. The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity continues to affect women more than men. Although the gap has narrowed in the region, it is still 9.1 percentage points, with Latin America and the Caribbean being the region with the largest gap in the world.
“In 2022, moderate or severe food insecurity in rural areas was 8.3 percentage points higher than in urban areas. Once once more, it is the rural populations who are being left behind, and that is why we must prioritize them in our programs and public policies,” said Rossana Polastri, Regional Director of the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for Latin America and Caribbean.
The region faces the challenge of malnutrition
Latin America and the Caribbean increasingly faces the complex problem of malnutrition, which encompasses both malnutrition—stunting, childhood wasting, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies—as well as overweight and obesity.
According to the report, the region experienced an increase in the prevalence of overweight in boys and girls under 5 years of age between 2000 and 2022, and in the prevalence of obesity in adults between 2000 and 2016, exceeding the world average in both cases.
Between 2020 and 2022, in the context of the pandemic, the prevalence of overweight in boys and girls under 5 years of age increased slightly from 8.3% to 8.6% with a larger increase in South America, a smaller increase in Mesoamerica and remaining stable in the Caribbean. In 2022, the prevalence of overweight in boys and girls under 5 years of age was 9.7% in South America, 6.7% in Mesoamerica and 6.6% in the Caribbean.
“Overweight and obesity are a growing challenge, responsible for approximately 2.8 million deaths” from non-communicable diseases in 2021 in the Americas, said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa,
Director of PAHO. “In the last 50 years, the rates of overweight and obesity have tripled, affecting 62.5% of the population in the region,” he added and considered “worrying” the regional prevalence of overweight in boys, girls and adolescents that is located at 33.6%, higher than the world average “It is urgent to advance in the transformation of food systems to guarantee healthy eating for all.”
Obesity is not the only challenge in this matter. Some countries still have a high prevalence of stunting in boys and girls under 5 years of age. At the regional level, this figure reached 11.5%. While a significant reduction has been achieved since 2000, the decline has slowed in recent years. Between 2000 and 2012, prevalence decreased by regarding 5 percentage points, while between 2012 and 2022 the reduction was only 1.2 percentage points.
“In Latin America and the Caribbean, child malnutrition is a problem that, in its different forms, continues to impact children and adolescents. Malnutrition and childhood overweight are two sides of the same coin and require a comprehensive approach. Childhood overweight has increased alarmingly in the last two decades, threatening the health and well-being of children. In turn, child malnutrition prevails in the region, mainly affecting unworthy, Afro-descendant and rural populations. From UNICEF, we call on countries to promote public health policies that protect children’s right to nutrition, ensuring their access to nutritious food and appropriate services and practices,” said Garry Conille, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America. and the Caribbean.
The high cost of having a healthy diet
Latin America and the Caribbean has the highest cost of a healthy diet in the world. Between 2020 and 2021, the cost of a healthy diet increased by 5.3% in the region, an increase that can be explained by the increase in food inflation driven by lockdowns, disruptions in the global supply chain and the shortages of human resources that occurred during this period.
According to the Panorama 2023, The average cost of a healthy diet globally is $3.66 per person per day. Latin America and the Caribbean is the region that has the highest cost of a healthy diet, reaching $4.08 a day. Asia follows, with $3.90; Africa with 3.57 dollars; North America and Europe, with $3.22; and finally Oceania, with $3.20.
Access to a healthy diet varies considerably across subregions and countries. In 2021, South America saw a 22.5% increase compared to the previous year; while in the Caribbean, this increase was 4.1%. In the Caribbean, the majority of the population of Haiti (92.6%) might not afford a diet
1699570931
#high #cost #healthy #diet
