Undernourishment in Latin America and the Caribbean increased in the last measurement period. After a plateau of several years, in 2016 approximately 42.5 million people do not have enough food to meet their required daily calorie intake, accounting for an increase of 2.4 million people versus the previous year. If necessary actions are not taken to overcome both hunger and malnutrition, Latin America and the Caribbean will not attain the goal of ending hunger and malnutrition by 2030, set in the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the decline in child undernutrition, overweight and obesity continue posing important health issues for Latin America and the Caribbean. The prevalence of obesity in adults is on the rise and overweight in children under 5 years of age affects 7% the population, ranking above the 6% of overweight children registered worldwide. Although Latin America and the Caribbean produce enough food to meet the needs of their population, this does not ensure healthy and nutritious diets. There is a need for creating sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food systems to provide varied and safe foods, with good nutritional quality that help put an end to hunger and all forms of malnutrition. Both the economic slowdown in Latin America and the Caribbean and the slower pace of poverty and extreme poverty reduction dynamics over the last few years have hindered the eradication of hunger and malnutrition. Furthermore, persisting income inequality puts pressure on access to food, with the ensuing impact on food and nutrition security. Marked differences in access to basic services are observed in Latin America and the Caribbean, both among and within countries. Rural areas and low-income population groups have far less access to drinking water and sanitation in the region. Weather-related disasters have caused considerable economic damages and severe consequences for food and nutrition security. This scenario has imposed a sense of urgency on the actions required for the mitigation and adaptation actions required.

Latin America and the Caribbean deviates from its path toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. The number of undernourished people increased for the third consecutive year reaching 39.3 million, 6.1% of the population. The social and economic inequalities that characterize the region aggravate the problem of malnutrition. Vulnerable groups, such as the population living in poverty, children, women, indigenous peoples and rural inhabitants, tend to experience more severe problems of hunger and malnutrition. Inequality of malnutrition is also seen in gender. The problems of malnutrition in the region are the result of the profound changes that have affected its food systems, which determine the quantity, quality and diversity of food available for consumption, a transformation that has been driven by growing urbanization, changes in diets and new ways of producing and processing food. The solution to the problems of hunger and malnutrition in the region requires changes to its food systems.

Regional Overview present the regional food security and nutrition situation, including trends of undernourishment, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition, together with other indicators that could help the understanding of the causes of hunger and malnutrition. This edition offers a regional overview of the socioeconomic state of the region; national and regional data and trends regarding the costs and affordability of healthy diets; the possible drivers behind the high cost of healthy diets and their unaffordability; and introduces policies and investments around the region that aim to reduce the cost of nutritious foods and improve the affordability of healthy diets.

This review provides a snapshot of the state-of-art of School Feeding Programmes in 14 of the 15 CARICOM Member States. It provides an overview of the different models of school feeding programmes that currently exist in the Caribbean, challenges faced and recommendations for improvement. Among the aspects evaluated include: the governance structure, nutritional quality of meal served, linkages with small farmers for the procurement of products used in the meals, involvement of children in school gardens related activities, etc. The document includes a case study for each of the participating countries (namely Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago). For each of these countries, an Annual Net Benefit Analysis was conducted, using information collected in 2017. The aim is that the document can provide preliminary information and recommendations that can be relevant for governments, public organizations, donors, opinion leaders, private sectors, and others toward strengthening school feeding programmes in the Caribbean. It was developed with the support of the University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Agro-Economic Society under the leadership of Prof. Carlisle Pemberton and Dr. Hazel Paterson-Andrews.

This year’s report presents evidence that the absolute number of people who suffer from hunger continues to slowly increase. The report also highlights that food insecurity is more than just hunger. For the first time, the report provides evidence that many people in the world, even if not hungry, experience moderate food insecurity as they face uncertainties about their ability to obtain food and are forced to compromise on the quality and/or quantity of the food they consume. This phenomenon is observed globally, not only in low- and middle-income countries but also in high income countries. The report also shows that the world is not on track to meet global nutrition targets, including those on low birthweight and on reducing stunting among children under five years. Moreover, overweight and obesity continue to increase in all regions, particularly among school-age children and adults. The report stresses that no region is exempt from the epidemic of overweight and obesity, underscoring the necessity of multifaceted, multisectoral approaches to halt and reverse these worrying trends. In light of the fragile state of the world economy, the report presents new evidence confirming that hunger has been on the rise for many countries where the economy has slowed down or contracted. Unpacking the links between economic slowdowns and downturns and food insecurity and malnutrition, the report contends that the effects of the former on the latter can only be offset by addressing the root causes of hunger and malnutrition: poverty, inequality and marginalization.

Achieving food and nutrition security for all people intrinsically links to the maintenance of biodiversity. Therefore, increasing sustainable production of healthy, nutritious and safe food requires mainstreaming biodiversity use and conservation criteria within crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture production systems. This cannot be achieved without the active participation and commitment of all productive sectors and different actors within the food system, from producers of different sectors and sub-sectors to consumers. This report presents the recommendations, conclusions and action plan emerged from the High Level Regional Dialogue on the Integration of Biodiversity in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DRANIBA) in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by FAO and the Government of Mexico in October 2018, within the framework of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Delegates from different productive sectors representing eleven countries of the region, and representatives from international and cooperation agencies, civil society and academia, reviewed case studies and discussed issues related to biodiversity mainstreaming in the agricultural, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture sectors. DRANIBA brought attention to stakeholders’ efforts in promoting the international agreements related to biological diversity and will contribute to COP-14 and its follow-up phases.

This document reviews the development of the aquaculture industry in the Latin America and the Caribbean region over the past decade. In 2018 aquaculture production in the region amounted to an estimated 3.1 million tonnes of aquatic products (excluding seaweeds) worth USD 17.2 billion at first sale. This food sector is vastly concentrated in a few countries with the combined output from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico representing over 85 percent of the total regional production. Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, tilapia, whiteleg shrimp and the Chilean mussel collectively contributed 80.4 percent and 85.9 percent of the regional production by volume and value, respectively. Marine aquaculture has been the dominant production environment in the region for the past two decades, accounting for 70.1 percent of the farmed output in 2018. Production models vary widely, with a concentration of large-scale companies in Chile, while primarily small- and/or medium-size operations in Brazil, Peru and several other countries. Introduced species remain top on the list among those farmed such as tilapia and the different salmonids both of which have contributed to local livelihoods and employment. Tilapia farming has contributed significantly to food security in many countries of the region while the largest proportion of farmed salmons have been destined to the export markets. Production prospects remain promising, however the industry requires in general better governance, the adoption at all levels of appropriate technologies and best practices, and renewed efforts to guarantee environmental sustainability and social acceptance as well as competitiveness and foresight to deal with climate and market changes. The small island developing states (SIDS) face additional challenges including limited expertise, high production costs, poor seed supplies, as well as extreme and destructive weather events. The report discusses issues that require wider regional attention for the aquaculture sector to grow. Key recommendations focus on governance-related improvements highlighting the need for solid sectoral development plans, support policies, and effective rules and regulations. The promotion of a stronger cooperation among the countries in the region as well as further afield on technical matters, species diversification and equal support to smalland large-scale farming operation are identified as key elements to foster investment and help the region gain a solid position among world aquatic food producers.

The Gender Strategy proposes to deepen the analysis of the initiatives that achieve changes and - structural transformations - of the unequal relations, emphasizing in the monitoring of the SDGs and the indicators under the mandate of the FAO. Furthermore, the strategy must respond to the challenges of the current context, some of which are in the order of the slowdown in economic growth, the increase in poverty and hunger, demographic changes and in the composition and structure of families and the exhaustion of the current development model, characterized by the increase of inequalities and environmental crises.

The objective of the publication is to provide a regional overview and show the joint efforts of FAO and the World Food Program in supporting the School Feeding Programs (SFPs) in Latin America and the Caribbean. Likewise, the document focuses on the main strategic areas of joint work, within the framework of the common vision of the SFPs as a public policy instrument to achieve the goals of sustainable development by 2030. Finally, this document presents three case studies from countries where FAO and WFP work together in support of SFPs: Dominican Republic, Colombia and Honduras.

The goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that are related to food security and nutrition will not be achieved as long as, in some territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, populations continue to live with malnutrition rates. Economic opportunities in these areas are often limited, public services are scant, and exposure to severe climate events is high. The public policies promoted in the region have had less impact in these historically lagging territories, and there is a pressing need to produce a new agenda of public instruments that address the characteristics of the communities that inhabit them. The full and sustainable development of the territories that are falling behind is not only an obligation in terms of the realization of the rights of their inhabitants; it would also allow these territories to activate their social, economic, environmental and cultural potential, to the benefit of all societies.It is hoped that the 2020 Regional Overview will help to highlight the challenges experienced by the territories with the worst indicators in terms of food and nutrition, and that it will serve to mobilize political commitment and public attention towards those areas that are most highly laggingThe year 2020 will be remembered for many decades as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The indicators of the 2030 Agenda that are used in this publication do not yet show the different impacts of COVID-19. However, there are references to the possible implications of the pandemic for the future.