COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity in South American countries

Carlos Frederico A. Vasconcelos-Neto (), Michelle Jacob, Daniel Tregidgo, Denis Valle, Hani R. El Bizri, Sávio Marcelino Gomes, Julia E. Fa, Thais Q. Morcatty, Frederico Ozanan Barros Monteiro, Alessandra Scofield, Alessandra Matte, Willandia A. Chaves, Luiz Henrique Medeiros Borges, Antônia I. A. Silva, Dídac Santos-Fita, Tiago Lucena Silva, Isaac Ibernon Lopes-Filho, Maria Isabel Afonso Silva, Rebeca Mascarenhas Fonseca Barreto, Marcela A Oliveira, Felipe Silva Ferreira, Ricardo Rodrigues Santos, Jaime Honorato-Júnior, Marilene Vasconcelos Silva Brazil, Shirliane Araújo Sousa, Deise C. L. Oliveira, Valéria R. F. Ferreira, Hyago K. L. Soares, Marcia F. Pinto, Raone Beltrão-Mendes, Marcos Paulo Lopes Rodrigues, Wáldima Alves Rocha, Roberto Gutiérrez Poblete, Francisco Luigi Schettini, Joe S. S. Rojas, Marco A. Aspilcueta, Justo D. V. Zevallos, Giussepe Gagliardi-Urrutia, Erick Rodolfo Menéndez Delgado, Mariela Lissette Polit-Vera, Elvira Rodríguez Ríos, Juan Carlos Carrascal Velásquez, Maria Dalila Forlano Riera, Lucy Perera Romero, Danilo A. Salas Dueñas, Daniel Garin and Pedro Mayor ()
Additional contact information
Carlos Frederico A. Vasconcelos-Neto: Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá, GP Ecologia de Vertebrados Terrestres
Michelle Jacob: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
Daniel Tregidgo: Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá, GP Ecologia de Vertebrados Terrestres
Denis Valle: University of Florida
Hani R. El Bizri: Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá, GP Ecologia de Vertebrados Terrestres
Sávio Marcelino Gomes: Universidade Federal da Paraíba
Julia E. Fa: Manchester Metropolitan University
Thais Q. Morcatty: Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá, GP Ecologia de Vertebrados Terrestres
Frederico Ozanan Barros Monteiro: Institute of Health and Animal Production, Federal Rural University of the Amazon
Alessandra Scofield: Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Pará, Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA)
Alessandra Matte: Universidade Tecnológica Federal Do Paraná (UTFPR)
Willandia A. Chaves: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Luiz Henrique Medeiros Borges: Associação SOS Amazônia
Antônia I. A. Silva: Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Instituto Natureza e Cultura
Dídac Santos-Fita: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
Tiago Lucena Silva: Biodiversity Institute
Isaac Ibernon Lopes-Filho: Biodiversity Institute
Maria Isabel Afonso Silva: Universidade Federal Do Acre - UFAC
Rebeca Mascarenhas Fonseca Barreto: Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Colegiado de Ciências Biológicas
Marcela A Oliveira: Universidade Federal de Rondônia
Felipe Silva Ferreira: Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco
Ricardo Rodrigues Santos: Universidade Federal do Maranhão
Jaime Honorato-Júnior: EARTH University
Marilene Vasconcelos Silva Brazil: Secretary of State for the Environment of Acre, Biodiversity Department
Shirliane Araújo Sousa: Universidade Estadual do Ceará
Deise C. L. Oliveira: Instituto Amazônico de Agriculturas Familiares
Valéria R. F. Ferreira: Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia
Hyago K. L. Soares: Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Sistemática e Ecologia
Marcia F. Pinto: Biologia, Universidade Estadual do Ceará
Raone Beltrão-Mendes: Universidade Federal de Sergipe
Marcos Paulo Lopes Rodrigues: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/Museu Nacional
Wáldima Alves Rocha: Núcleo de Pesquisa em Ciências Naturais do Semiárido Do Piauí - NUPECINAS, Universidade Federal do Piauí
Roberto Gutiérrez Poblete: Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, Unidad de Monitoreo de Biodiversidad, Dirección de Gestión de Áreas Naturales Protegidas
Francisco Luigi Schettini: Asociación Civil Oikos, Research, Animal Health
Joe S. S. Rojas: Unidad Operativa Funcional de Gestión Participativa -UOF GP
Marco A. Aspilcueta: Ecosistemas y Cambio Climático
Justo D. V. Zevallos: San Juan Bautista University, Veterinary Medicine School
Giussepe Gagliardi-Urrutia: Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana
Erick Rodolfo Menéndez Delgado: Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí
Mariela Lissette Polit-Vera: Universidad Técnica de Manabí
Elvira Rodríguez Ríos: Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí (ULEAM)
Juan Carlos Carrascal Velásquez: Universidad de Córdoba/One Health Colombia
Maria Dalila Forlano Riera: Universidad Centroccidental “Lisandro Alvarado”
Lucy Perera Romero: Washington State University
Danilo A. Salas Dueñas: Fundación Moisés Bertoni, Investigación y Conservación
Daniel Garin: Unidad Agroalimentaria Metropolitana (UAM)
Pedro Mayor: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2025, vol. 17, issue 4, No 12, 1022 pages

Abstract: Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic triggered unparalleled political, economic, and social ramifications, exacerbating global food insecurity (FI). To understand the overall impact of the pandemic and how different socio-economic groups were affected, we assessed prevalence and severity of FI in a sample of 18,997 households across seven countries in South America. We employed the Food Insecurity Experience Scale developed by the FAO. Our results showed that pre-pandemic, 4.5% of the sampled population across the entire continent faced Moderate FI, while 0.6% experienced severe FI. During the pandemic, Moderate FI increased to 16.9% (+ 12.4%), and Severe FI to 2.7% (+ 2.1%). By country, pre-pandemic households in Venezuela had the highest prevalence of Moderate FI (9.7%), with Peru experiencing the highest Severe FI frequency (1.1%). Peru had the greatest rise in Moderate (+ 23.9%) and Severe FI (+ 4.6%) during the pandemic. Low-income households, defined as those earning

Keywords: Food security; Nutrition; Covid-19; Hunger; South America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-025-01538-4

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