Coronavirus: Latin America in Danger of Hunger Pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) alerts that the Covid-19 pandemic in Latin America this year could push some 14 million people into poverty and hunger.

The pandemic is expected to result in a 5.3 percent economic contraction for the region, according to the UN’s Economic Commission branch ECLAC.

The consequences of this economic crisis are aggravating the already precarious situation of millions of people. As a result of school closures due to the coronavirus, many children are missing out on the lunch they relied on, along with the inability to work due to movement restrictions, job losses, and falling income from remittances – cash sent home by workers abroad.

“It is vital and urgent that we provide food assistance to the growing number of vulnerable people in the region, as well as those who depend on informal work”, said Miguel Barreto, WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “We still have time to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from becoming a hunger pandemic.”

The WFP projections cover Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and smaller island states in the Caribbean. In Haiti, the number of people severely affected by food insecurity could rise from 700,000 to 1.6 million. The number of affected Venezuelan migrants living in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru who do not have adequate access to food may rise from 540,000 to over one million.

The situation is no better in the arid regions of Central America, where the number of people severely affected by food insecurity could rise from over 1.6 million to almost 3 million. These figures do not include potential damage during the hurricane season in the Caribbean, which begins in June. The projected figures do not include countries such as Brazil, Venezuela or Mexico, where the programme is not currently represented.

The agency also urged countries to provide additional support to people who benefit from national social protection programmes, and to expand coverage to include groups such as migrants, pointing out that some authorities might need assistance from international financial institutions and the international community.