UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: COVID-19 Latin America and Caribbean - WFP
/
1:26
/
MP4
/
106.6 MB

Edited News | WFP

UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: COVID-19 Latin America and Caribbean - WFP

Millions in Lat­­­in America and the Caribbean at risk of severe food insecurity due to impact of Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic may turn into a hunger pandemic for millions of people in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

The agency warned today that as many as 10 million additional people could join the ranks of the poor and hungry across 11 countries, including some of the small island nations in the Caribbean.

The socio-economic impact of COVID-19 can push an additional 10 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean into severe food insecurity”, said Elisabeth Byrs, WFP senior spokesperson, speaking today via videoconference at the UN in Geneva.

In 2019, 3.4 million people in the region were already facing severe food insecurity - meaning that they were in an emergency-like situation of not being able to meet their basic food needs.

The Latin America and Caribbean region has recently been battered by economic shocks, erratic climate, displacement of population and a situation of social insecurity. It is currently considered the global epicenter of COVID-19 spread, worsening an already dire situation for many.

“We need to act quickly and decisively, if we are to prevent this crisis from becoming a hunger pandemic”, said WFP’s Elisabeth Byrs.

WFP supports governments and reach the people most in need with food rations to take home, vouchers and cash to shop at local stores. In emergencies such as COVID-19, it is vital that national social protection programmes adapt and expand to protect the most vulnerable, such as migrants and people in the informal economy.

“WFP is particularly concerned about vulnerable people in Haiti”, its spokesperson said. “We have 700, 000 people in Haiti with severe food insecurity and this year this number will rise to 1,6 million for Haiti.”

Cash and food distributions are taking place every week in Haiti. WFP operates a helicopter in the country to carry medical personnel, supplies and hospital equipment to areas that are difficult to reach by road.

We are concerned about what we call the Central American Dry Corridor. I mean El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. There were 1,6 million in this corridor people food insecure in 2019, and this year we will have 3 million,” Byrs said.

More than 80 million children in the region stopped receiving school meals once schools closed because of the pandemic. For many, that plate of food was their only meal of the day. Take-home rations have been distributed to families in Haiti, Colombia and Honduras as an alternative to children's school meals.

The number of Venezuelan migrants with severe food insecurity in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru could rise from 540,000 to more than 1 million, WFP estimates.

The hurricane season in the Caribbean, starting in June, is an additional risk for which governments will need to prepare.

  1. Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva, sunny.
  2. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Elisabeth Byrs, Senior Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “The socio-economic impact of COVID-19 can push an additional 10 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean into severe food insecurity”.
  3. Wide shot: UN Geneva main entrance, elevated view of front gates.
  4. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Elisabeth Byrs, Senior Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “We need to act quickly and decisively, if we are to prevent this crisis from becoming a hunger pandemic”.
  5. Medium shot: UN Geneva building.
  6. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Elisabeth Byrs, Senior Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “WFP is particularly concerned about vulnerable people in Haiti, we have
  7. 700, 000 people in Haiti with severe food insecurity and this year this number will raise to 1,6 million for Haiti.”

    1. Medium shot: UN Geneva pedestrian entrance and flag alley, viewed from the Place des Nations, Geneva.
    2. SOUNDBITE (EN) – Elisabeth Byrs, Senior Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “We are concerned about what we call the Central American Dry Corridor. I mean El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. There were 1,6 million in this corridor people food insecure in 2019, and this year we will have 3 million”.
    3. Medium shot, UN Geneva, UN flag flying.

Similar Stories

Gaza two months blockade - OCHA 02 MAY 2025

1

1

1

Edited News , B-roll | OCHA

Gaza two months blockade - OCHA 02 MAY 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA

Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.

/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/

Gaza humanitarian update - UNRWA

1

1

1

Edited News | UNRWA

Gaza humanitarian update - UNRWA ENG FRA

Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNHCR

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025 ENG FRA

Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR

With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine. 

 

Ethiopia update - WFP

1

1

1

Edited News | WFP

Ethiopia update - WFP ENG FRA

Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday. 

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon ENG FRA

Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP

1

1

1

Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP ENG FRA

Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’

In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Tariff uncertainty and potential   ITC

1

1

1

Edited News | ITC

Tariff uncertainty and potential ITC ENG FRA

Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Sudan

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Sudan ENG FRA

Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.

UN Human Rights Briefing  by spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on OPT

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Briefing by spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on OPT ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.

Two years of war in Sudan – OCHA, OHCHR, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO

Two years of war in Sudan – OCHA, OHCHR, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO ENG FRA

Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say

Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.

Gaza update - UNMAS

1

1

Edited News | UNMAS

Gaza update - UNMAS ENG FRA

In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.

Myanmar earthquake update - UNDP

1

1

1

Edited News | UNDP

Myanmar earthquake update - UNDP ENG FRA

Dangers grow for Myanmar earthquake survivors, health system 'overwhelmed' - UNDP

In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN Development Programme warned on Tuesday.