Dominicans suffer less hunger, UN report says

Rome.- Latin America and the Caribbean managed to cut their rate of famine by 3.8% in the last two decades, from 14.7% in 1990 to 7.9 in 2013, and lead the developing regions in reaching the Millennium goals against hunger, EFE reports.

The report "The State of food insecurity in the world” released Tuesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that most Latin American and Caribbean nations managed to reduce the rate of hunger.

The FAO said it analyzed regions and countries on the state of their population’s under-nourishment, said FAO lead statistician Piero Consorti, quoted by EFE.

Consorti noted that only Costa Rica, Guatemala and Paraguay failed in their attempt to reduce by half the proportion of the population suffering from hunger since 1990, and as stated in the Objective 1, set by the UN by 2015. “Although Paraguay has recently had a good reduction level since the early 1990s, it has had some problems which have slightly slowed its goals."

Of even greater concern, the report notes, is Guatemala’s situation, where underfeeding prevails in 30% of its population."

It said Cuba, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela had already surpassed the Millennium goal against famine, adding that the other Latin American and Caribbean countries progressing positively, but doubts they’ll achieve that objective in time.