At least 1.2 million Nicaraguans suffer from hunger

NICARAGUA – November 25^th, 2012 (InsideCostaRica.com) According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), at least 1.2 million Nicaraguans, or 20% of the population, suffer from hunger, according to a regional report. The report also notes that some 49 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean suffer from hunger.

The total number of those unable to meet their basic caloric intake and nutritional needs worldwide is estimated at 868 million people. Of those, 49 million live in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The figure represents a reduction compared to the years 2004 and 2006, when the number reached 54 million, as well as the period from 2007 to 2009, when the estimate was 50 million.

According to the FAO, the number of hungry people in the region “is not explained by insufficient production or lack of food supply, except in cases of disaster, but rather is mainly due to the lack of access to food by a significant section of the population that does not have sufficient income to purchase (food). “

FAO also said that the growth of regional economies has not translated into a decrease in vulnerability for large part of the population.

The countries most affected by hunger in the region are Haiti (with some 44.5% of the population receiving inadequate food intake), Guatemala (30.4%), Paraguay (25.5%), Bolivia (24.1%), and Nicaragua (20, 1%), according to the AFP news agency.