Abstract

Ending hunger and achieving food security is Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals but will be difficult to achieve as many countries experience financial and political shocks. This study assesses changes in the status of food security in Latin America (LA) during the region's recent economic recession (2014 to 2017). This cross-sectional study used Gallup World Poll data from 18 LA countries (n=65,146) from 2014 to 2017. Food security status was measured by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale. Descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the changes in food security and logistic regression was applied to investigate associations between food security and socioeconomic and individual factors. Findings showed that LA suffered a significant decrease in food security (from 51% to 43%) and an increase in moderate (13% to 16%) and severe food insecurity (14% to 19%). However, El Salvador and Honduras, which are benefiting from long-term political and financial stability presented an opposite trend. Although food security decreased in Chile and Uruguay, they still had the two highest prevalences of food security in 2017 (67% and 62%, respectively). As seen in other regions, food insecurity was strongly associated with poverty, low education, having three or more children in the household, lack of social support and poor wellbeing. Women were more likely to report food insecurity, but the elderly (60+) were less likely. Findings highlight that economic and social policies are needed to tackle this progressive deterioration of food security and guarantee the right to food if LA is to achieve 2030 targets.