Extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are jeopardising food security in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 74% of the region’s countries facing high exposure to these phenomena. According to the report Panorama Regional de la Seguridad Alimentar y Nutricional 2024, launched on 27 January, the impacts are already being felt in reduced agricultural productivity, disrupted supply chains and higher food prices.
These factors, combined with structural challenges such as social inequality and difficulty in accessing healthy diets, have exacerbated hunger and malnutrition, especially among vulnerable populations.
‘We closed the hottest year in history. We had record greenhouse gas emissions. Fires, such as in the Amazon and in various parts of Brazil, droughts, floods, hurricanes and storms show that disasters are becoming more frequent and atypical in the region, affecting harvests and putting people’s food at risk,’ said Lola Castro, WFP director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report points out that the prevalence of malnutrition has increased in recent years in countries heavily impacted by climate change, with the most vulnerable population (such as women and children in rural areas, indigenous people and people of African descent) being the most affected.
In Latin America, the combination of chronic malnutrition and overweight represents a double challenge, affecting one in ten children under the age of five. In Brazil, 3.1 per cent of children under five still face extreme thinness. What’s more, the number of people who can’t afford a healthy diet remains high, even with recent advances in the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Good news
But the report also brings good news. The economic recovery of several South American countries due to social protection programmes, policies aimed at improving access to food, and post-pandemic economic efforts, have caused hunger and food insecurity to decrease for the second consecutive year in the region.
According to the report, hunger affected 41 million people in the region in 2023, which represents a reduction of 2.9 million people compared to 2022, and 4.3 million people compared to 2021.
According to Eliene Sousa, nutritionist and member of the Projects team at the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, ‘this is no reason to let our guard down, because there is still a lot to do. Climate change and crises pose threats of all kinds to access to healthy and adequate food, especially for the most vulnerable populations.’
Regional disparities remain evident, with rural communities and women facing greater barriers to accessing food. These populations, more exposed to climate shocks, suffer disproportionately from increased food and nutrition insecurity.
Considering that, compared to other regions, Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest cost of a healthy diet, Eliene emphasises that ‘investing in projects and policies to develop healthy food systems is part of the solution. Developing intersectoral actions is what is proposed in documents we work on with countries in the region, such as the Nurture the Future Project.’
The report emphasises the urgency of strengthening agri-food systems to make them more resilient to climate change. In Brazil, investments in rural infrastructure, sustainable agricultural practices and support for small producers are seen as essential. In addition, ensuring access to climate information and financial incentives can help the most vulnerable communities adapt to extreme conditions and prevent significant losses in agricultural production. Eliene also emphasises the importance of listening to the populations directly affected, saying that ‘social participation promotes better targeting of the expected results.’
Finally, she stresses that climate action must be aligned with the right to food and nutrition, prioritising the children and families most affected. ‘With joint actions, government leadership and social participation, it is possible to mitigate the impacts of climate change and make progress in reducing hunger and food inequality in the country.’
The Regional Overview of Food and Nutrition Security 2024 is a joint publication of the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Read the full report (available in Spanish) Panorama regional de la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional – América Latina y el Caribe 2024 | World Food Programme