Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean is at its highest point in two decades, UN says

Caracas, Venezuela (CNN)Tens of millions are going hungry in Latin America and the Caribbean as the Covid-19 pandemic sharpens a regional malnutrition crisis to its worst levels in decades, according to the United Nations.

In just one year -- from 2019 to 2020 -- the number of people living with hunger in the region rose by 30%, or 13.8 million people, a new United Nations Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition report said.

While the coronavirus poses its own health threat, the pandemic's economic fallout has also meant empty cupboards. Months of lockdowns and travel restrictions hit informal jobs in particular, in a region where missing work one day can mean having little to eat the next.

Women are going hungrier than men across the region, the UN found, as food insecurity disproportionately affects the most vulnerable people in society.

In 2020, approximately 42% of women experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, compared with 32% of men. That disparity has consistently widened in recent years, the report said, with a spike from 6.4% to 9.6% in the first year of the pandemic.

Julio Berdegué, regional representative for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called the overall situation "critical," adding that the pandemic had dramatically intensified existing food insecurity.

The UN report calculates that 59.7 million people in the region are now suffering from hunger -- the highest level since 2000.

The hardest-hit

Regionally, Central American countries are faring the worst.

In Guatemala, around half of the population is experiencing food insecurity. And in El Salvador and Honduras, those figures are nearly as stark, with around 47% and 46% of their populations going hungry, respectively.