Brazil: An explosion of hunger, which now affects 33 million people

More than 33 million people are hungry in Brazil, up 73% from 2020, and more than half of Latin America’s more than 213 million people now face food insecurity, a study has found. yesterday Wednesday.

“The number of starving households has increased from 9% (of the population), ie 19.1 million people, to 15.5%, ie 33.1 million people,” according to a study by the Brazilian Research Network for food safety (Rede Brasileira de Pesquisa em Soberania e Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional, Rede PENSSAN).

In addition, “more than half of the country’s population, or 125.2 million people, experience some degree of food insecurity.” Percentage increased by 7.2% compared to 2020.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one is in a state of food insecurity when one does not have regular and adequate access to nutritious food for normal growth and to lead an active and healthy life.

According to the authors of the study, the situation in Brazil is a consequence of “the continuing flattening of social policies, the deterioration of the economic situation, the increase of social inequalities and the second year of the new coronavirus pandemic”.

The government under President Zaich Bolsonaro, who will run for a second term in October, has increased aid to the most vulnerable under the “Auxilio Brasil” program by roughly $ 100, on average. But soaring inflation – 12.3% in 12 months in April – is blowing away benefits.

“Food insecurity (…) is also increasing in households receiving financial assistance,” the study said.

This “historic setback”, its authors point out, is visible daily in many Brazilian cities, where more and more people are looking in the trash for food.

The number of families with children under the age of ten facing the spectrum of hunger has doubled, from 9.4% in 2020 to 18.1% in 2022.

The population of blacks and mixed breeds is the most affected, as are single-mother families. Geographically, the north and northeast of the country are most affected.

Source: AMPE

Source: Capital

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