Food Insecurity in Colombia Reduced Last Year, UN Says

Food insecurity in Colombia was reduced in 2023 from 30 to 25 percent, representing a reduction of 2.5 million people since 2022, according to the UN World Food Program (WFP).

The UN agency statistics show that there are still 13 million people in moderate or severe food insecurity, that is, people who lack regular access to sufficient food, and at least 1.6 million of those are in the severe category – the area which has seen the least reduction.

“The improvement in food security can be explained by a significant reduction in the general inflation rate and in the food inflation rate in particular (…) as well as a fall in the unemployment rate (…) and a decrease in monetary poverty,” added the UN agency.

Food insecurity in Colombia on a knife edge

Despite the positive climb, the WFP highlighted that half the households in Colombia remain in a “marginal food security situation” and are susceptible to falling into food insecurity for a variety of reasons, not least the effects of El Nino and economic slowdown.

“Although the economic situation has improved since 2022, high vulnerability persists with households resorting to survival strategies related to food consumption and livelihoods,” the WFP report states.

The gap between the urban and rural population remains, with food insecurity rates rising to 31 percent in rural areas, and the desert area of La Guajira, in the north of the country, being of particular note as the region with the highest figures, bordering on 60 percent.

The evaluation of ‘Food Security for the Colombia Population 2024‘ also conveys that there have not been many year-on-year changes with regard to food consumption, with 43 percent of Colombian households reporting issues around food access in the last six months – particularly due to lack of food, money or because of a price hike.

In addition, 4 percent of households – roughly two million people – said they only ate one meal a day in the week before the survey, while four out of 10 households have reportedly had to sink into debt to cover basic needs, so “debt continues to be a basic coping strategy to cover the needs of an important segment of households.”

The report also shows that 17 percent of Colombian households surveyed are considering emigrating in the next 12 months, either to the US or Spain.