Political will, adequate targeting and innovative gender approaches needed to stop hunger and food insecurity increase in Latin America and the Caribbean

 By Isabel de la Peña

Political will, adequate targeting and innovative gender approaches are needed to avoid hunger and food insecurity's further increase in Latin America and the Caribbean. This sentence, which was true at the end of 2019, is even more true at the end of 2020, after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region. Major investments should be done across the region, especially targeting rural territories that are being left behind, to secure Latin Americans' and Caribbeans' access to healthy and nutritious food.

This is the main conclusion of the report Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020, which IFAD launched last 2 December 2020 together with FAO, WFP, PAHO and UNICEF. 

The Panorama 2020 shows that, after five years of sustained increase in hunger and food insecurity in the region, 2019 has registered a further deterioration of the situation. 7.4% of the population (47.7 million people) suffered from hunger in 2019, and almost one third  (191 million people) faced food insecurity.

What is more worrying is that this data does not account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit the LAC region particularly hard and is expected to significantly worsen what was an already dire situation, especially for the most vulnerable population groups (women, youth, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities). Projections estimate that LAC may lose 30 years of progress against hunger and food insecurity due to COVID-19.

The main focus of Panorama 2020 report is particularly relevant for IFAD, since it concentrates on analyzing territorial inequalities and identifying the territories that are being left behind¹ in terms of malnutrition (both chronic child malnutrition- or stunting- and overweight). Many of these lagging territories are rural areas, especially some of the most remote territories of the Andean, Amazon and semiarid regions.

The average level of stunting in LAC’s lagging territories stands at 27.6%, whereas in non-lagging territories the average is 11.9%. More importantly for IFAD, the report shows that rural territories, with high poverty rates, low income, low schooling, high informal employment and weak access to services, are those with the highest levels of stunting. On top of that, rural territories with a high presence of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants are also more prone to the double burden of malnutrition (the coexistence of undernutrition with overweight and obesity).

For IFAD, the Panorama 2020 proves once more the need of investing in rural areas and family farming if we want to deliver on the 2030 Agenda and its promise of building a global society that leaves no one behind and has put an end to hunger and extreme poverty . First, because rural areas are the territories more affected. Second, because in rural areas lies the possible solution to these problems.

The role of family farmers, responsible for 70-80% of food production, is central to the promotion of nutrition-sensitive and environmentally and socially sustainable food systems . The role of the region's authorities, supported by international financial and development institutions such as IFAD is to put in place policies and programs that allow farmers to walk towards that objective.

Such policies and programs should target lagging territories and aim to: 

• Improve economic access to healthy diets (in particular, social protection programs, productive inclusion and support to farmers’ livelihoods); 
• Foster production and physical access to foods that ensure adequate nutrition (especially, promotion of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and value chain development, including promotion of short marketing circuits, and strengthening of school feeding programs engaging family farmers) 
• Optimize food utilization and food quality (by promoting healthy consumption habits and adequate and hygienic handling of food).

The complex nature of the food security and nutrition scenario described in the Panorama calls for multi-dimensional approaches and strategies that can address the diverse causes of malnutrition. 

The unprecedented challenge posed by COVID-19, together with its projected disastrous impact on the already worrying food security and nutrition situation, calls for stepping up our efforts to promote innovative approaches to bring about inclusive, sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food systems.

Those approaches should include an innovative gender perspective, as well. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women, not only due to the increased workload in care, but also to their high dependence on informal jobs, which has led to a greater loss of income and jobs among them.

Gender and nutrition have always gone hand in hand, given women’s reproductive role and their traditional responsibility for family nutrition. That said, the magnitude of the the challenge of changing behaviors (particularly when it comes to shifting dietary practices and food consumption patterns),  can no longer be considered the sole responsibility of women: there is an urgent need to meaningfully involve men. The time has come to double our efforts in addressing toxic masculinities, rethinking the role of men while promoting approaches and sensitization strategies that portray family food and nutrition security as a shared responsibility.