In Argentina's poverty-hit barrios a food emergency takes hold

Record ID: 1846046

  • Title: In Argentina's poverty-hit barrios a food emergency takes hold
  • Date: 1st October 2024
  • Summary: VILLA SOLDATI, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FILE – AUGUST 22, 2024) (REUTERS) WOMAN CHECKING LIST OF RECIPIENTS, CALLING THE ROLL AT SOUP KITCHEN BOY GIVING CONTAINER PEOPLE IN LINE FOR FOOD AT SOUP KITCHEN VARIOUS OF BOY RECEIVING CONTAINER WITH FOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRIEST, ADRIAN BENNARDIS, SAYING: “We used to receive help from the national government. As of December o
  • Embargoed: 15th October 2024 11:56
  • Keywords: Argentina Milei barrios malnutrition poverty shack slum
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, ARGENTINA
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, ARGENTINA
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA005586421092024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: In Argentina's poor barrios a food emergency is taking hold as poverty rises, with malnutrition on the increase and medics treating children for eye diseases and even scurvy linked to a vitamin-deficient diet.
    Years of recessions and high inflation in the resource-rich South American nation have left over half the population in poverty, including around seven in 10 children.
    Food insecurity has risen sharply in recent years, and is now being aggravated by a tough austerity campaign under libertarian President Javier Milei, whose new government has slashed billions of dollars of spending as part of a "zero deficit" plan to right the embattled economy.
    Official data last week showed that poverty hit 53% in the first half of the year, up from around 42% at the end of last year. Some 18% of people are in extreme poverty, meaning their household incomes don't cover the cost of the basic food basket.
    The number of Argentines facing moderate-to-severe food insecurity has almost doubled to 36% over the last seven years, a United Nations report said this year. A million and a half kids miss a meal each day and are eating fewer nutritious foods like meats and vegetables that have become more costly.
    Norma Piazza, a pediatrician specializing in nutrition said some kids were being admitted with neurological issues and convulsions where the only underlying pathology was deficiency of vitamins like B12, indicating a lack of meat in a country that has long prided itself on its beef-rich diet.
    The Milei government, which took power in December 2023, has recognised a "food emergency". It says it has responded with increased payouts on certain welfare subsidies like universal child allowance and food cards.
    "In the face of the food emergency, our priority is for people to receive assistance with direct transfers, which puts money in people's pockets," the Secretariat of Childhood, Adolescence and Family said in written comments to Reuters.
    The government also says there are signs the worst is over. Data from the Catholic University of Argentina suggest poverty peaked at the start of the year and has improved since. Inflation is slowing though remains in the triple digits on an annual basis.
    The presidency office said last week that high poverty levels were "horrendous" and it was doing all it could to turn around the situation that it blames on decades of poor economic management and over-spending by mainstream political parties.
    (Production: Miguel Lo Bianco, Anna Portella, Gloria Lopez)
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