In its report "Food security in Latin America and the Caribbean" released last July 24, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) ranks Haiti in last position in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

The report reveals that Haiti is the country of the Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC) where the population spends most to feed itself or 59% of its income, followed in second position by Guatemala (47%) and Nicaragua (40%).

In contrast, it is in Brazil, Chile and Uruguay that people spend the least on food, accounting for 20%, 22.5% and 25% of their income, respectively.

In addition, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the top 3 countries with a prevalence of malnutrition above the regional average are : Haiti (47%), Bolivia (20%), Nicaragua (17%). The countries with the lowest rate of malnutrition are El Salvador, Ecuador and Paraguay tied with 12%. The report points out that the case of Haiti is the most worrying, as malnutrition has increased over the last five years, affecting more than 50% of its population.

The report estimates that the availability of food in the region is more than enough to meet the caloric needs of the population. This means that, on average, food supplies in the LAC region are sufficient in calories (> 100%). Haiti is the only country in the region to have a food supply of less than 100%

According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI), Latin America and the Caribbean fall into the category of low food insecurity compared to other regions of the world. world. All Latin American and Caribbean countries are in the low or moderate categories of this index with the exception of Guatemala and Haiti, which are in the serious category.

According to the Committee on World Food Security, "Food security as existing "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life." This formal definition was adopted at the Rome World Food Summit in 1996.

Download the full IDB report (PDF, in Spanish) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Seguridad_alimentaria_en_America_Latina_y_el_Caribe_es_es.pdf

S HaitiLibre