Nearly 6.5 million people suffer from hunger in Venezuela, according to the report “Regional Panorama of Food and Nutrition Security in Latin America 2022” prepared by several United Nations agencies and published this Wednesday.
“In South America, Venezuela had the highest prevalence of undernourishment (22.9%), which in absolute numbers is equivalent to 6.5 million people”, indicates the letter that uses estimates of the average for the years 2020 and 2021.
The prevalence of malnutrition, explains the report, is an indicator that captures “a state of energy deprivation lasting more than one year”, so it represents the number of people who regularly go to bed hungry.
“A look at the hunger trends in the countries of the region shows that hunger increased significantly in Venezuela, by 18.4 percentage points, that is, 5 million more hungry people between the periods 2013-2015 and 2019-2021″, the analysis continues.
The investigation also reveals that 4.1% of children under 5 years of age in Venezuela suffer from acute malnutrition, “a life-threatening condition“of infants and what is”caused by insufficient energy and nutrient intake, malabsorption of energy and nutrients, or frequent or prolonged illness”.
“Wasting or acute malnutrition is one of the most critical forms of malnutrition in early childhood, as it is associated with a high risk of mortality if cases are not adequately identified and treated in a timely manner.”, adds the letter.
The report was prepared by the UN agencies for health (WHO), food and agriculture (FAO), children (Unicef), agricultural development (IFAD) and the World Food Program.
Source: EFE
Source: Gestion
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