Latin America And The Caribbean Regional Overview Of Food Security And Nutrition 2018

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.

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.

New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting.

If we must eat to survive, we must make agriculture sustainable. To make agriculture sustainable, we must consider the necessary strategic actions to understand the challenges in the sector, solve problems and innovate. That is why in July 2017, several Ministers and other senior representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture of Suriname, Guyana, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Belize, Barbados and The Bahamas participated in the Caribbean Agricultural Policy Forum organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The Forum analyzed the agricultural policy strategies of the different countries and their impact on the performance of the sector. It was an opportunity to discuss the challenges the Caribbean’s agricultural sector faces, including: the vulnerability of small producers to price volatility in the global market and of course the impacts of climate change. The dialogue was based on agricultural public policy data collected for each Caribbean country within the framework of the IDB’s Agrimonitor initiative. The following publication gathers the main findings and summarizes how agricultural policies affect producers and consumers as well as how the limited funding for agricultural services, such as research and infrastructure, could limit the ability of Caribbean farmers to compete effectively in global markets. The analyses presented are therefore meant to contribute to the Caribbean’s regional dialogue for the design of more effective agricultural policies, which we hope will strengthen the sector and improve the lives of people in the region.

Panorama of Rural Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean 2018, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), addresses the important challenges faced by the region in developing its rural territories to achieve the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, particularly SDG 1 to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. After many years of progress, poverty and extreme rural poverty in the region have started to increase again. This is worrying news for countries of the region and the international community because, if they do not return to the path of rural poverty reduction, millions of people will be excluded from the opportunity to contribute to the development of their families, communities and countries. The 33 Member States of the United Nations in the region have pledged their commitment to eradicating rural poverty by 2030 and, despite the recent trend, it is still possible to achieve this goal. This report also highlights the persistence of significant gaps between rural and urban areas, which is incompatible with sustainable and equitable development. Of the 169 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, 132 require actions that must be carried out in rural territories.