Are 20 acute hunger hotspots in the worldaccording to the most recent study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
One of them is Colombia.
The international organization will issue an early warning in May 2022 because in these places population could face worsening food insecurity even endangering his life and livelihood.
(Read: Economic inequality kills one person every 4 seconds).
The conflict and violence would be the main cause of this problem according to the UN. With the arrival of the coronavirus this situation became more accentuated.
According to the international entity, it is likely that food insecurity in Colombia deteriorate further due to the political and economic instability that the country is experiencing. In turn, due to the continuing impact of the migration crisis amplified by internal displacement.
The report states that 7.3 million Colombians suffer from food insecurity and will need assistance by 2022.
The UN identified that the delays in the implementation of the Peace Agreement, between the Government and the FARC-EP, have provoked a wave of violent attacks. generating like this the internal displacement of 61,00 people between January and September 2021. Three times what had been recorded in 2020.
(What’s more: Inflation in Latin America: the other victim of the pandemic in 2021).
Along with this, they foresee that the 2022 elections may generate some economic disturbances, such as increasing displacement.
THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC
The increase in undernourishment varies between regions and in Latin America and the Caribbean it affected 9.1% of the population.
Santiago Saldarriaga. TIME
After the arrival of the coronavirus in Colombia, in March 2020, the UN determined that existing disparities in the country have been further amplified. These effects will continue to be felt in the most vulnerable households, despite the economic rebound in 2021.
Even though job losses caused by the pandemic have fully recovered, the international organization warns that the unemployment rate remains high. Likewise, inflation, which stood at 12.4% in September of last year and which, without a doubt, has a very large impact on the purchasing power of vulnerable households.
(See: Extreme poverty in Latam skyrockets: there are already 86 million people).
THE MIGRATION CRISIS
According to the IDB, migration in Latin America is currently characterized by five trends.
Julian Rios. TIME
Colombia is the country with the largest number of Venezuelan migrants in the region. Until August 2021, there were more than 1.8 million citizens of the neighboring country within the territory. This would represent an increase of 100,000 people since the beginning of 2021.
With the opening of borders, it is believed that migratory flows will increase in the coming months. In addition, the number of people in transit from South America and the Caribbean through the Darien crossing to Panama increased considerably in 2021.
Between January and September 2021, more than 91,000 migrants crossed the Darién Pass, three times the previous record number of 30,000 in all of 2016.
Regarding food insecurity, the UN estimates that 64% of Venezuelan migrants, that is, 1.1 million people, suffer from this problem. Although the situation has been progressively improving, the figures are still alarming.
For the international organization there are restrictions on access to humanitarian aid due to the conflict. Situation that does not seem to improve according to the violence that has been registered in the first days of 2022.
WHAT DOES THE COUNTRY NEED?
The study determines that it is necessary to supply essential agricultural inputs for the survival of the animals and the production of this field. At the same time, increased technical assistance in food preservation. For this, it is useful to prepare fertilizers with local inputs and create seed banks.
(Keep reading: Internal migration to Bogotá fell during the last decade).
Along with this, they recommend making money transfers to the most vulnerable families in rural and urban areas of the country in order to mitigate the impact of the increase in the prices of the family basket.
Finally, Venezuelan migrants and host communities must be supported in neighboring rural areas, rehabilitating water systems, establishing
areas for rapid food production and support for rapid forage production.
BRIEFCASE
