In eleven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean alone, hunger currently haunts 14 million people suffering from “severe food insecurity” due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in the region, the World Food Program (WFP) revealed today.
A study conducted last year by this UN humanitarian agency indicated that people under that category were 3.4 million at the time, but in less than half a year an additional 11 million do not have what to eat every day.
If moderate food insecurity is included in the calculation, the problem affects 40 million people in a group of countries that includes only those where WFP has relief operations.
These are Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras in Central America; from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and some small islands in the Caribbean; and from Peru, Ecuador and Colombia in South America, said WFP regional director for the region, Miguel Barreto.
Those subregions have so far reported to the World Health Organization more than 1.6 million cases of COVID-19.
The evaluation of the nutritional situation in Latin America excludes the countries with the greatest economic weight, such as Mexico and Brazil, as well as Argentina, Chile, as well as Venezuela, where the organism does not have activities.
In a virtual conference for the press accredited to the UN in Geneva, Barreto explained that the food insecurity figures that he expounded were validated by each government and preferred not to venture to estimate the number of people who would be in the same situation throughout Latin America.
The coronavirus pandemic is trying to contain quarantine measures that have stopped much of the economic activity of the countries and caused a crisis of proportions that is projected to last at least until next year.
Estimates from international financial organizations point to a contraction of the Latin American and Caribbean economy of 6% in 2020.
Meanwhile, WFP needs to receive contributions of $ 400 million to cover the new food needs arising from the pandemic until the end of the year.
The people most susceptible to food insecurity in the region are those who work in the informal economy (between 50% and 70% of all workers) and their incomes depend on day-to-day activities that they are now unable to carry out.
One of the most alarming aspects of the situation that Barreto described is that its figures do not include Venezuela, where the socio-economic crisis was already very serious before the pandemic and WFP has not had a presence for 45 years.
However, Barreto indicated that the agency is in negotiations with the Venezuelan government to resume its activities next year and that there is “good will” to reach an agreement.
Perhaps as a sign of this approach, the authorities allowed WFP to carry out an independent food evaluation in Venezuela last year, which revealed that 2.3 million Venezuelans suffered from severe food insecurity.
In the countries where it is present, in 2019 WFP offered food assistance to more than five million people, particularly in rural areas, but is now extending its work to the urban environment to alleviate the effect of the coronavirus among the poorest.
Despite the fact that the situation in general is very bad in Latin America and the Caribbean, Barreto identified the most serious situations, including that of Haiti, where before the pandemic there were 700,000 people in severe food insecurity, while now there are 1, 7 million.
Likewise, he mentioned the case of the Central American zone known as the “Dry Corridor”, which starts from southern Mexico to northern Panama and with a high rate of extreme poverty.
There serious food insecurity now affects 3 million people compared to 1 million at the end of last year, a period that coincided with the end of a severe drought.
Another major concern for WFP is the 5 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees. The COVID-19 crisis is estimated to have aggravated the food condition of at least one million of them.
Barreto praised the efforts of countries such as Ecuador and Peru, which have attempted to alleviate the social effects of the halt of their economies through money transfers to the poorest.
He considered that the International Monetary Fund should try to help with soft loans so that countries can double their social spending.
From EFE.
