Ensuring Food Security in LAC in the Context of Covid-19: Challenges and Interventions

COVID-19 represents a threat to food security in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which has been deteriorating in recent years. In fact, while in 2014 hunger affected 38.5 million people in the region, this number exceeded 42 million people in 2018 (FAO, PAHO, WFP and UNICEF, 2019). This suggests that approximately 10% of the population in LAC is in a state of malnutrition, which led to a significant jump in the serious food insecurity index, which went from 7.6% of the population in 2016 to 9.8 % of population in 2017 (FAO, PAHO, WFP and UNICEF, 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to exacerbate this situation in LAC, while the UN expects to double the number of people in a state of severe food insecurity worldwide.