Feed, Clothe & House Poor Children/Families

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According to the latest FAO estimates, 805 million people are affected by hunger in the world (2012-2014). This represents a fall of more than 100 million in the last ten years, and 209 million fewer than in 1990-1992. In Latin America and the Caribbean, hunger affects 37 million people (6.1% of the population), which is a significant advance from the 68.5 million (15.3%) that suffered hunger in the three-year period 1990-1992.

Between 1990 and 2014, Latin America and the Caribbean, as a whole, reduced by 60% its proportion of undernourished population, making it the only region in the world to achieve the goal of "halving the percentage of people suffering from hunger" set for 2015 by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The region's experience shows that to deal with the major social challenges, in particular extreme poverty and hunger, what is needed is a combination of economic growth, strong political commitment and decisive public action, in the form of public policies that have a high impact on the most vulnerable segments of the population.

Higher food prices impact directly on family welfare, reducing purchasing power and thus affecting both the quantity and the quality of food purchased by households, especially those that are poorest and most vulnerable, given that these spend between 60 and 70% of their income on food.

The most prominent barrier to adequate housing in Latin America remains a financial one, where impoverished families cannot afford the associated costs of living. In general, Latin American countries value the idea of home-ownership as a policy goal, but this often neglects other reasonable and effective solutions. Researcher Alan Gilbert suggests that a major issue and cause for the deficit of housing in Latin America stems from insufficient policy measures. Since housing exists in an “intermediate position” between social and economic policy, Gilbert notes that both sectors have generally ignored the region’s growing issue.

Economic policies usually neglect housing since attention within the sector tends to focus on other economic activities, such as producing goods and services and job opportunities. Social policies also neglect adequate housing because, as Gilbert puts it, housing is “comprehensive,” meaning that “everyone except the very rich seems to need a house.” Because of this extensive need for people from all backgrounds, social policies typically have not covered the issue, except in certain scenarios where programs are put in place to rectify particularly problematic dilemmas.

Your contributions are even more critical in these unprecedented times. Undernourished children are more susceptible to infectious diseases like COVID-19. The pandemic and its economic impact will leave 265 million people on the brink of starvation worldwide. Please Donate Today:

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