Prevalence and factors associated with food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective We assessed the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) and its associated factors in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We performed secondary data analysis of a survey conducted by Facebook and the University of Maryland. We included adults surveyed from April to May 2020. FI was measured by concerns about having enough to eat during the following week. Sociodemographic, mental health, and COVID-19-related variables were collected. We performed generalized Poisson regressions models considering the complex sampling design. We estimated crude and adjusted prevalence ratios with their 95% confidence intervals. Results We included 1,324,272 adults; 50.5% were female, 42.9% were under 35 years old, 78.9% lived in a city, and 18.6% had COVID-19 symptoms. The prevalence of food insecurity in LAC was 75.7% (n=1,016,841), with Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti with 90.8%, 86.7%, and 85.5%, respectively, showing the highest prevalence. Gender, area of residence, presence of COVID-19 symptoms, and fear of getting seriously ill or that a family member gets seriously ill from COVID-19 were associated with a higher prevalence of food insecurity. In contrast, increasing age was associated with a lower prevalence. Conclusion The prevalence of food insecurity during the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in LAC was high and was associated with sociodemographic and COVID-19-related variables.

Prevalence of parents' non-intention to vaccinate their children and adolescents against COVID-19: A comparative analysis in Colombia and Peru

“…Although, to date, no study has compared these differences, there may be several explanations. In a previous study by our group evaluating food insecurity in LAC in the first stage of the pandemic, it was found that food insecurity was higher in Peru than in Colombia (83.9 % vs 76.8 %, respectively), which may explain the results of the present study [30] . Similarly, the impact of the pandemic was different in the two countries, with the number of deaths registered until November 17, 2021, being more than 200 thousand in Peru [31] and about 128 thousand in Colombia [32] .…”

“…As in other LAC countries, some factors associated with the socioeconomic and psychological consequences of the pandemic reduce the non-intention of vaccination [13] . Indeed, aspects such as stress [13] , economic or food insecurity as a result of the economic crisis during the pandemic and especially during the first wave [30] , possibly created a state of alert and the desire for such a situation not to be repeated, being vaccination seen as an opportunity to achieve this [13] . Along the same line, adherence to community mitigation measures such as the use of masks and social distancing may reflect a higher likelihood of complying with vaccination.…”

Factors Associated with Not Receiving a Booster Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine in Peru

“…Finally, the last section includes questions about the respondent’s occupation. This survey has been used to develop previous studies [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ] and the survey methodology has been described in more detail elsewhere [ 16 ].…”

COVID-19 and inequities in the Americas: lessons learned and implications for essential health services

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened food insecurity, and a recent study estimated that 75.7% of persons in Latin America and the Caribbean were food insecure, with populations in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti being most affected ( 12 ). Poor diets high in ultraprocessed foods coupled with physical inactivity during lockdowns are likely to worsen COVID-19 outcomes.…”