Food Security in Venezuela: From Policies to Facts

Abstract

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The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, approved by The General Assembly of the United Nations, recognized the right to food as a Basic Human Right. Consequently, at the national level, programs, norms, and laws were decreed to promote the population's health and nutrition. The 1999 Venezuelan Constitution explicitly included, for the first time, the term “Food Security” in Article 305. Subsequently, the government approved various laws and guidelines to regulate the right to food of the population. However, despite such laws, the well-being of the population has not improved. According to the 2020 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (2020), between 2017 and 2019, the undernourishment prevalence amounted to 31.4%. Also, reports from Caritas showed 14.4% of Global Acute Malnutrition in children under 5 years of age, and 20% of children were at risk of acute malnutrition for the period April–June 2020. Other factors have influenced the actual Venezuelan food insecurity condition. The current severe economic and social crisis has led to a Complex Humanitarian Emergency. This work aimed to consider if decreeing many laws related to food and nutrition is not enough to reduce this scourge, or if there is any guarantee that the Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) of the people would improve.

Keywords

• food
• nutrition
• food security
• food policies
• malnutrition
• children