MORE than 130 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean cannot access a healthy diet, according to a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report.
The UN report said that 22 percent of the Latin American and Caribbean population cannot afford a healthy diet, adding the Caribbean is at 52 percent.
Findings of the report noted that it is harder to access healthy food in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report noted that “131.3 million people in the region could not afford a healthy diet in 2020.”
It added: “This represents an increase of eight million compared to 2019 and is due to the higher average daily cost of healthy diets in Latin America and the Caribbean compared to the rest of the world’s regions, reaching in the Caribbean a value of USD 4.23, followed by South America and Mesoamerica with USD 3.61 and USD 3.47, respectively.
“This problem is related to different socio-economic and nutritional indicators. The report presents a clear relationship between the inability to afford a healthy diet and such variables as a country’s income level, the incidence of poverty, and the level of inequality,” a UN press release about the document noted.
The report noted that the Ukraine war also had a great impact in the rise of food prices internationally and regionally, adding it was more challenging for people to access a healthy diet.
The statement continued: “The rise in international food prices experienced since 2020, exacerbated after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and a regional increase in food inflation above the general level, have increased the difficulties for people to access a healthy diet.”
Obesity was also a cause of concern in the report as many people have suffered from the ailment due to the lack of having a healthy diet or not being able to afford one.
The Bahamas was recorded as having one of the highest percentages in obesity amongst adults, which included: 23.9 percent in 2000, 26.2 percent in 2005, 28.5 percent 2010, 30.0 percent in 2013, 30.5 in 2014, 31.0 in 2015, and 31.6 in 2016.
Recommended food policies such as nutritional labelling, subsidising nutritious foods, and taxing unhealthy or non-nutritious foods that do not contribute to healthy diets can improve the affordability of healthy diets, the report said.
The UN report added the recommendations could prevent debilitating conditions and diseases related to overweight and obesity.
In terms of the cost of a healthy diet per day in The Bahamas the report said it cost $4.27 in 2017; $4.38 in 2018, $4.36 in 2019; and $4.48 in 2020.
The report noted that food insecurity for the period of 2019-2021 in The Bahamas was 3.4 percent. The report also noted that children under five and women suffer a higher prevalence of food insecurity than men.
Meanwhile, the report showed how some nutrition-sensitive social protection programmes have worked and are essential to support the diets of the most vulnerable population in times of crisis.
“Food insecurity will continue to rise due to the food and fuel price crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine and the aftermath of COVID-19,” said Lola Castro, World Food Programme regional director. “We must act now, but how can we do it? Supporting governments to expand social protection networks because the pandemic once again demonstrated that social protection is useful to improve the affordability of a healthy diet, preventing crises like this from hitting affected populations even more”.
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