More than 15% of the population of the state of Rio de Janeiro has nothing to eat. The index corresponds to about 2.7 million people, an increase of 400% compared to 2018 data. The number represents 8.1% of the Brazilian population that does not have food at home.
The data were released this Thursday (23) by Ação Cidadania, as part of the survey by the Brazilian Research Network on Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security (PENSSAN Network), with data collected between November 2021 and April 2022.
Also according to the survey, 57% of people from Rio de Janeiro, or about 10 million people, experience some type of food deficiency.
Women are the ones who suffer the most from hunger in the state, especially the heads of families: 38.6% of them are moderately or severely food insecure, while only 36.33% have no problems with food (food security).
In relation to male heads of households, 50.43% are in food security, while 28.2% of these have moderate or severe food insecurity.
In addition, according to the data, black and brown people are also the ones who suffer the most from the lack of food on the table. The numbers show that 37.6% of this population lives with restrictions or goes hungry, while 37% have a secure food situation. Among whites, 55.63% are food insecure and 25.83% are moderately or severely food insecure.
The survey also pointed out that the lower the level of education, the greater the incidence of food insecurity in households. While among people with no schooling or with less than four years of schooling, the rate of moderate/severe food insecurity is 37.5%, that among people with five to eight years of schooling is 35.9% and those with more than eight years of study, of only 8%.
According to Rodrigo “Kiko” Afonso, executive director of Ação da Cidadania, Rio de Janeiro is a reflection of what is happening in Brazil and, therefore, the alarming data on hunger and inequalities are very close in their dynamics, whether data from hunger in themselves, are given in relation to inequalities linked to color and gender. In addition, he cites the state’s economic difficulties as one of the factors for the high number of people going hungry.
“Today, we have gigantic poverty in the state. It is one of the states that lost the most jobs in Brazil. This whole process of lack of assistance to small and medium producers in the rural area, which occurs all over the country, causes a mass migration of people from the countryside to urban cities. And this brings even more inequalities, as there is a lack of jobs and there is a swelling in the metropolises with people looking for new opportunities and hardly succeeding”, evaluates Kiko.
Regarding the occupations of the reference person in the household, the unemployed have a higher rate of moderate/severe food insecurity (68.6%). For those with informal employment, this rate is 42.2%; those with self-employment, 32.8%; and among those with formal employment, moderate/severe food insecurity drops to 20.9%. The reference people from their homes with formal employment, as was to be expected, are the ones with the highest food security index (53.9%).
It is considered as food insecurity when a person does not have permanent and regular access to food. It is divided into three levels: mild, when food quality is compromised or when there are uncertainties regarding food access in the near future; moderate, when there is already an insufficient amount of food; and severe, when there is deprivation in food consumption and hunger.
Earlier this month, the National Survey on Food Insecurity in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Brazil, released by the PENSSAN Network, showed that currently 33.1 million people do not have enough to eat in the country – 14 million more than compared to 2020.
National data also showed that more than half (58.7%) of the Brazilian population lives with food insecurity to some degree – mild, moderate or severe (hunger). Brazil has regressed to a level equivalent to that of the 1990s.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
