Ismael Bermúdez
12/10/2020 4:55 PM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 12/10/2020 5:16 PM
Of the 13 million girls, boys and adolescents
under 17 years of age
,
64.1% live in poor households
.
And of these 8.5 million, just over 2,000,000
went hungry
("severe food insufficiency") and another 2,500,000
did not reach four meals a day
.
Thus, "total food insufficiency"
represents 34.4% of the total or more than 4.5 million,
despite the various social benefits.
This X-ray of the
“infantilization of poverty”
and its impact on nutrition is from the Observatory of Social Debt for Children of the UCA (Argentine Catholic University) and corresponds to the measurement from July to October of this year.
Since 2011, with 23.5%, food insecurity among girls, boys and adolescents had a
sustained increase
.
It took a leap between 2017 and 2019 and, pandemic and quarantine through, it grew again this year to 34.4%.
Ianina Tuñón,
Researcher in charge of the Barometer of Childhood Social Debt, explained that there was a more stable period between 2011 and 2017 because in those years
direct food aid
through schools and neighborhood canteens was
progressively increased
, reaching a coverage of a third of childhoods in 2017.
Then, due to the crisis, the recession and the fall in the population's income with the rise in indigence and poverty, “between 2017 and 2018 there was a significant increase in food insecurity of 7.9 points and a new relevant increase in the last interannual period 2019-2020 of 4 points in food insecurity and 1.5 points in the most serious level ”, says the Report.
Tuñón points out that “the
situation of vulnerability in access to food
in the framework of the pandemic and the quarantine had a relevant effect on lower social sectors that did not have this problem before this juncture.
Basically, social sectors in which economic aid is not usually targeted through income transfers.
In turn, direct free food assistance in school and community spaces
fell especially for boys and girls of primary school age
, but was offset by the
Alimentar Card
.
This Card was focused on early childhood and on households covered by the AUH, the Universal Child Allowance.
Although it was not sufficient as a protection system against vulnerability in access to food, it was significant in reducing severe food insufficiency ”.
And he concludes: "being a beneficiary of the Alimentar Card in a situation of poverty and / or indigence doubles the chances of not experiencing severe food insecurity or episodes of hunger in children."
As an effect of the pandemic and quarantine, the Report indicates that direct food aid through schools and canteens fell significantly, from 39.2% to 23.2%.
For these reasons, in the last year, the increase in food insecurity was registered
mainly in boys and girls between 5 and 12 years old
and to a greater extent in adolescents between 13 and 17 years old because boys and girls between 0 and 4 years old they were probably more protected as a result of the Alimentar Card coverage.
Likewise, a special deterioration in nutrition can be observed among the children of the low integrated socio-occupational stratum, which went from 28% to 36%, while among the marginal sectors it rose from 53.1 to 53.8%.
Tuñón points out that “in the context of the pandemic and quarantine, the global problem of
obesity and malnutrition,
which affects a significant part of childhoods in the country, constituted an additional risk due to the possibility of being affected by the disease .
The school is fundamental as a privileged space for the development of food policies and vigorous physical activity especially aimed at boys, girls and adolescents ”.
And he concludes: “in the exercise of the right to food, the creation of genuine employment for adults is key to generating decent living conditions that guarantee access to food within the home.
However, in the current situation, transfers play a very important protective role that needs to be complemented with educational policies and awareness about consumption that make a balanced diet.
The school space should be an example of a balanced diet, adequate breakfast and access to fruits, vegetables and dairy products.
The availability of fresh food and its price is another very relevant chapter in the area of the right to food ”.
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