2017 Panorama Of Food And Nutrition Security In Latin America And The Caribbean

Undernourishment in Latin America and the Caribbean increased in the last measurement period. After a plateau of several years, in 2016 approximately 42.5 million people do not have enough food to meet their required daily calorie intake, accounting for an increase of 2.4 million people versus the previous year. If necessary actions are not taken to overcome both hunger and malnutrition, Latin America and the Caribbean will not attain the goal of ending hunger and malnutrition by 2030, set in the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the decline in child undernutrition, overweight and obesity continue posing important health issues for Latin America and the Caribbean. The prevalence of obesity in adults is on the rise and overweight in children under 5 years of age affects 7% the population, ranking above the 6% of overweight children registered worldwide. Although Latin America and the Caribbean produce enough food to meet the needs of their population, this does not ensure healthy and nutritious diets. There is a need for creating sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food systems to provide varied and safe foods, with good nutritional quality that help put an end to hunger and all forms of malnutrition. Both the economic slowdown in Latin America and the Caribbean and the slower pace of poverty and extreme poverty reduction dynamics over the last few years have hindered the eradication of hunger and malnutrition. Furthermore, persisting income inequality puts pressure on access to food, with the ensuing impact on food and nutrition security. Marked differences in access to basic services are observed in Latin America and the Caribbean, both among and within countries. Rural areas and low-income population groups have far less access to drinking water and sanitation in the region. Weather-related disasters have caused considerable economic damages and severe consequences for food and nutrition security. This scenario has imposed a sense of urgency on the actions required for the mitigation and adaptation actions required.

In recent years, various factors have diverted the world off the path to eradicating hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition by 2030, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this trend. Latin America and the Caribbean is no exception. This edition of the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2021: Statistics and Trends reveals a bleak scenario for the future. In 2020, 59.7 million people in the region suffered from hunger, and between 2019 and 2020 the prevalence of hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean increased by 2 percentage points. Much of this can be explained by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced the incomes of millions of people in the region. But it is not behind all the setbacks, as the region's hunger figures have been growing for six consecutive years.

Latin America and the Caribbean managed to reduce the number of undernourished by 20 million compared to the year 2000. However, 2018 marks the fourth consecutive year in which hunger shows a continuous increases. Moderate or severe food insecurity in Latin America increased considerably. This increase caused more than 32 million people to join the almost 155 million who lived in food insecurity in the Region in 2014-2016. The Region has shown significant progress in reducing child malnutrition and it is significantly distant and below the global prevalence of malnutrition in girls and boys. However, malnutrition due to excessive weight in the Region is one of the highest in the world and it continues to increase. This year, the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean focuses on food environments and describes some of the main policies that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are developing to face the different forms of malnutrition.

Regional Overview present the regional food security and nutrition situation, including trends of undernourishment, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition, together with other indicators that could help the understanding of the causes of hunger and malnutrition. This edition offers a regional overview of the socioeconomic state of the region; national and regional data and trends regarding the costs and affordability of healthy diets; the possible drivers behind the high cost of healthy diets and their unaffordability; and introduces policies and investments around the region that aim to reduce the cost of nutritious foods and improve the affordability of healthy diets.

Latin America and the Caribbean deviates from its path toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. The number of undernourished people increased for the third consecutive year reaching 39.3 million, 6.1% of the population. The social and economic inequalities that characterize the region aggravate the problem of malnutrition. Vulnerable groups, such as the population living in poverty, children, women, indigenous peoples and rural inhabitants, tend to experience more severe problems of hunger and malnutrition. Inequality of malnutrition is also seen in gender. The problems of malnutrition in the region are the result of the profound changes that have affected its food systems, which determine the quantity, quality and diversity of food available for consumption, a transformation that has been driven by growing urbanization, changes in diets and new ways of producing and processing food. The solution to the problems of hunger and malnutrition in the region requires changes to its food systems.

This review provides a snapshot of the state-of-art of School Feeding Programmes in 14 of the 15 CARICOM Member States. It provides an overview of the different models of school feeding programmes that currently exist in the Caribbean, challenges faced and recommendations for improvement. Among the aspects evaluated include: the governance structure, nutritional quality of meal served, linkages with small farmers for the procurement of products used in the meals, involvement of children in school gardens related activities, etc. The document includes a case study for each of the participating countries (namely Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago). For each of these countries, an Annual Net Benefit Analysis was conducted, using information collected in 2017. The aim is that the document can provide preliminary information and recommendations that can be relevant for governments, public organizations, donors, opinion leaders, private sectors, and others toward strengthening school feeding programmes in the Caribbean. It was developed with the support of the University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Agro-Economic Society under the leadership of Prof. Carlisle Pemberton and Dr. Hazel Paterson-Andrews.

This year’s report presents evidence that the absolute number of people who suffer from hunger continues to slowly increase. The report also highlights that food insecurity is more than just hunger. For the first time, the report provides evidence that many people in the world, even if not hungry, experience moderate food insecurity as they face uncertainties about their ability to obtain food and are forced to compromise on the quality and/or quantity of the food they consume. This phenomenon is observed globally, not only in low- and middle-income countries but also in high income countries. The report also shows that the world is not on track to meet global nutrition targets, including those on low birthweight and on reducing stunting among children under five years. Moreover, overweight and obesity continue to increase in all regions, particularly among school-age children and adults. The report stresses that no region is exempt from the epidemic of overweight and obesity, underscoring the necessity of multifaceted, multisectoral approaches to halt and reverse these worrying trends. In light of the fragile state of the world economy, the report presents new evidence confirming that hunger has been on the rise for many countries where the economy has slowed down or contracted. Unpacking the links between economic slowdowns and downturns and food insecurity and malnutrition, the report contends that the effects of the former on the latter can only be offset by addressing the root causes of hunger and malnutrition: poverty, inequality and marginalization.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World gives updates on the prevalence of undernourishment globally and the absolute number of undernourished, as well as the latest estimates for a number of global nutrition targets. This latest edition looks at the role of economic slowdowns and downturns in the rise of hunger and makes policy recommendations to safeguard food security and nutrition worldwide.