UN warns of Latin America Hunger Crisis Amid COVID-19 Pandem
Posted: Thu May 28, 2020 2:33 am
FILE - The Portuguese word 'Hunger' is projected over the Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue amid the new coronavirus outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 10, 2020.
The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) is warning that at least 14 million people could go hungry in Latin America, with the COVID-19 outbreak continuing to rise as jobs and economies decline under the weight of the pandemic.
The WFP Latin America regional director, Miguel Barreto, has dubbed COVID-19 the "hunger pandemic. He said social protection networks are now necessary for people who normally didn't need it.
Many governments across Latin America are providing food assistance for the most vulnerable groups.
While insisting the government do more, many people in poor communities are organizing soup kitchens, sharing what they have to try and sustain themselves.
Pan American Health Organizations say the hunger situation is a major concern as Latin America becomes the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brazil leads the region with more than 400,000 confirmed cases. Other Latin America countries struggling to contain the virus include Mexico, Peru and Chile.