One in every ten Brazilians – 21.1 million people, equivalent to 9.9% of the population – experienced severe food insecurity between 2020 and 2022, according to the global report State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, released this Wednesday (12) by the United Nations (UN).
In addition, almost a third (32.8%) of the country’s population is included in the categories of severe or moderate food insecurity, which is equivalent to 70.3 million Brazilians.
The results show a worsening of the difficulty of access to food in Brazil when compared with the data released last year. Between 2019 and 2021, 15.4 million Brazilians (7.3% of the population) were in a situation of severe food insecurity. And 61.3 million Brazilians (28.9% of the population) suffered from moderate or severe insecurity.
The increase is even greater if we consider data from 2014 to 2016, a period in which 4 million Brazilians (1.9% of the population) were severely food insecure and 37.6 million (18.3%) were moderately or serious.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the severe stage of food insecurity is that in which the individual is hungry and has not had food for a day or more. In the moderate phase, it is still possible to buy food, but in reduced quantity or quality, buying less and eating sausages or ultra-processed foods because they are cheaper.
In addition, the study also measured chronic undernourishment among Brazilians, which reached 4.7% of the Brazilian population between 2020 and 2022. In absolute numbers, 10.1 million people.
Undernourishment is the most extreme level caused by food insecurity. This is a long-lasting situation that causes an uncomfortable or painful feeling, as food does not provide enough energy for the well-being of the body.
The national data are part of a global study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the World Organization (WHO) and the World Food Program (WFP).
Other surveys may point to different numbers because they use different methodologies; understand.
Worsening world hunger
United Nations agencies warn that hunger is a problem that has worsened in the world during the last period analyzed, with an increase of 122 million people in this situation. Altogether, the world has about 735 million people suffering from hunger, a contingent that would be the third most populous country in the world, behind only India and China, and which exceeds the entire population of the European continent.
According to the report, the worsening situation is related to the Covid-19 pandemic and repeated conflicts, including the war in Ukraine. With the trend indicated by the data, the UN warns that the Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030 will not be achieved.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu highlighted that the recovery from the global pandemic has been uneven, and that the war in Ukraine has affected the availability of nutritious food and healthy diets.
“This is the ‘new normal’ where climate change, conflict and economic instability are pushing those on the margins even further away from safety. We cannot adopt a business-as-usual approach,” he declared, according to a text released by FAO.
For the president of the World Food Program (WFP), Alvaro Lario, the goal of ending hunger can be achieved, but it requires more investment and political will to be directed to scale the solutions that already exist.
“We can eradicate hunger if we make it a global priority. Investments in small farmers and their adaptation to climate change, access to inputs and technologies and funding to set up small agribusinesses can make a difference. Small producers are part of the solution. With the right support, they can produce more food, diversify production and supply urban and rural markets – feeding rural areas and cities with nutritious, locally grown food.”
billions hit
Although undernourishment caused by hunger is the most extreme situation indicated by the report, food insecurity and the costs of maintaining a healthy diet are other indicators of concern to the study’s authors.
Moderate food insecurity reached 2.4 billion people in the world between 2020 and 2022. The costs of a healthy diet proved unaffordable for 3.1 billion people, causing problems such as 148 million children under 5 years of age with short stature and 37 million overweight.
The report further shows the uneven impact of the pandemic and global economic shocks. In low-income countries, severe food insecurity increased from 22.5% to 28%, while in high-income countries, the variation was from 1.5% to 1.6%.
The African continent is the most affected by hunger and food insecurity: one in five people who suffer from hunger in the world lives in African countries. The situation is more serious in East Africa and Central Africa, regions where hunger reaches 28.4% of the population.
*Published by Fernanda Pinotti, with information from Vinícius Lisboa, from Agência Brasil
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
