Brazil: Food insecurity hits 125 million amid covid-19 crisis

BRASILIA, April 18 (NNN-TELESUR) — At least 125.6 million Brazilians have not eaten in appropriate quantity and quality since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest data by the Food for Justice Research Group.

Based at the Free University of Berlin, the project measured the levels of food insecurity in Brazil and found that over 59.3 percent of Brazilians currently live under these conditions.

The report highlights that households with children up to 4 years old are the hardest hit by food insecurity, showing levels well above the national average.

Moreover, at least 44 percent of Brazilians stopped eating meat and healthy food during the COVID-19 pandemic, turning to processed food instead.

Furthermore, the gender and ethnic aspects play a major in a family’s probability of experiencing poor nutrition. The data shows malnutrition in 25.5 percent of single-mother households, compared to 13.3 percent in man-lead families, and these indicators rise to 67.5 percent when the person is black.