During the last four years, Latin America achieved sustained reduction in the fight against hunger. According to the FAO, malnutrition decreased from 6.1% in 2020 to 5.1% in 2024, allowing 6.2 million people to leave hunger behind.
Some countries show notable progress:
- Brazil reduced famine below 2.5% and exited the hunger map.
- Mexico and Chile are approaching that level.
- Argentina, Barbados, and Colombia remain below 5%.
These advances are explained by public policies oriented towards children and youth, school feeding programs, support for small producers, and strengthening of local markets.
The Climate Threat
Climate change threatens to reverse these achievements. The pressure is especially strong in the Caribbean and Central America, where extreme phenomena have hit hard:
- Hurricanes in Jamaica and Haiti damaged infrastructure and increased agricultural production costs.
- Agriculture absorbed 23% of the economic impact derived from extreme climate events.
- Altered ecosystems favor the emergence of animal pests and diseases.
The Caribbean records a 52% population in moderate or severe food insecurity, compared to 22% in South America, reflecting a gap marked by climate vulnerability.
Adaptation and Resilience
The FAO insists that investing in climate adaptation is essential to strengthen agricultural resilience. Among the proposed measures:
- Digitalization and artificial intelligence to improve health and production control.
- More effective early warning systems to anticipate extreme phenomena.
- Sustainable agricultural practices that protect the environment and natural resources.
Zero Hunger: A Global Goal
The fight against hunger is linked to SDG 2: Zero Hunger, fundamental to ensuring human dignity and sustainable development. Its benefits include:
- Child health: malnutrition causes the death of more than 3 million children a year and limits intellectual development.
- Economic productivity: a world without hunger increases labor capacity and income.
- Social justice: fighting hunger reduces poverty and inequality, especially among women and vulnerable populations.
- Peace and stability: food security prevents conflicts in fragile communities.
- Environmental sustainability: involves promoting agricultural practices that care for natural resources.
Latin America has demonstrated that it is possible to reduce hunger with sustained policies and regional coordination. However, climate change threatens to undo these advances, especially in the Caribbean and Central America. The region faces a decisive moment: investing in resilience and adaptation will be key to ensuring that progress is not lost and to moving closer to the goal of eradicating hunger before 2030.
