A report by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) places the Dominican Republic in the fifth position on the list of countries with the highest nutritional insecurity in the region, with more than one million people.

Santo Domingo.- According to the document, prepared with other UN agencies, the number of persons in need of food increased in 2022, for the fourth consecutive year in the world, to 258 million in 58 nations, of which 17.8 million are in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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In the case of the Dominican Republic, the international organization argued that it is an upper middle-income country where the increase in price in 2021 and 2022 affected the real income and purchasing power of vulnerable households, with real limitations to access food for their livelihoods.

From October 2022 to February 2023, an estimated 1.4 million Dominicans experienced food insecurity, of these 142 thousand were in emergencies, particularly in the provinces of Bahoruco, Elías Piña, La Altagracia, Monte Plata, Pedernales, and San Juan.

The Network credited the increase in hunger worldwide to economic crises, including the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and extreme weather events.

It also mentions, among other causes, the repercussions of the conflict in Ukraine due to the contributions of that country and Russia to the global production and trade of fuel, agricultural inputs, and basic products, particularly wheat, corn, and sunflower oil. (PL)