Food insecurity has exploded in Argentina and affects more than 14 million people

At present, a group of nucleated organizations within the United Nations (UN) has just pointed out in its last report that in the last two years (between 2016 and 2018), The number of people suffering from moderate or severe food insecurity in our country has increased by nearly six million people.

according to "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019", the number of people facing "moderate or severe food insecurity" in our country has increased from 8.3 million in 2014-2016 to 14.2 million between 2016 and 2018. This is due to 71% increase, one of the largest leaps recorded in the world with Nigeria, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Sierra Leone and Botswana.

The study was prepared by five multilateral institutions: the United Nations Food Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations world food. (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

For the United Nations, the definition of "moderate" food insecure people is that of people who face "uncertainties about their ability to obtain food and who have been forced to reduce, sometimes during the course of their work. year, the quality or quantity of food they consume for lack of money or other resources ".

"The data are shocking, they are striking, they are suspending for a moment the many speculations on the supposed exchange rate dividends and the campaign meetings that are banging on the sidewalk," they told the Observatoire des conjonctures. International and Political Affairs (OCIPEx).

According to the Observatory, the estimates presented in the 2019 edition of this study are based on a combination of data: those collected by FAO in more than 140 countries with the help of a model from Investigation based on the experience of food insecurity (FIES for its acronym in English) and those compiled by the national institutions of several countries of the Americas, Africa, and Asia with the help of FIES or similar questionnaires on food safety.

So this is reference a lack of continued access to food, which decreases the quality of food, alters normal eating habits and can have negative consequences on nutrition, health and well-being. People facing severe food insecurity have a high probability of running out of food, experiencing hunger and, in the most extreme situations, spending several days without eating. puts their health and well-being at risk. risk

FAO reports that in Latin America and the Caribbean, "rates of undernourishment have increased in recent years, largely because of the situation in South America, where the percentage of people suffering from hunger rose from 4.6% in Latin America. 2013 to 5.5% in 2018 ". The increase, according to the Rome-based agency, is mainly due to the economic slowdown in several countries in the region, including the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, where the prevalence of undernourishment currently represents 21.2% of the population.

Although the undernourishment (the proportion of people who do not meet the minimum daily energy requirements for a healthy and active life), is the traditional indicator used by FAO to monitor hunger in the world, this year's report presents a second element: the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity. This indicator was developed to complement the information provided by the prevalence of undernourishment and to provide a broader perspective of the food security dimension related to access to food.

On the other hand, from the badysis of the statistical annex provided by FAO and badyzed by the OCIPEx, it is obtained that The increase in the prevalence and number of food insecure people in Argentina is one of the highest in the world.

Between 2014-2016 and 2016-2018, the percentage of the population experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity increased from 19.1% to 32.1% or, which is the same, from 8.3 million people to 14, 2 millions. This increase of 5.9 million people represents a 71% increase in the total number of individuals still having no access to food.