Hunger is a problem that affects one fifth of families headed by self-declared brown and black people in Brazil (20.6%). This percentage is twice as high when compared to families headed by white people (10.6%). The data, released this Monday (26), refer to the period between November 2021 and April 2022. They are part of the 2nd National Survey on Food Insecurity in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Brazil (II Vigisan). In total, 33.1 million people were impacted by hunger in the country. Those who fall into certain race and gender groups are more vulnerable. Households headed by black women represent 22% of those who suffer from the problem, almost twice as many as those headed by white women (13.5%). “The situation of food insecurity and hunger in Brazil is becoming clearer now. We urgently need to recognize the intersection between racism and sexism in the structural formation of Brazilian society, implement and qualify public policies, making them promoters of equity and broad, unrestricted and equal access to food”, says Professor Sandra Chaves, coordinator of the Brazilian Research Network on Sovereignty and Food and Nutritional Security (Penssan). Vigisan is carried out by the Penssan Network. It takes into account data recorded by the Vox Populi Institute, with support from Ação da Cidadania, ActionAid, Ford Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Brasil Foundation, Ibirapitanga, Oxfam Brasil and Sesc São Paulo. In general data released earlier, the study showed that four out of 10 families had full access to food, that is, in a condition of food security. On the other hand, 125.2 million were in the condition of food insecurity – mild, moderate or severe. The levels were measured by the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (Ebia), also used by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Schooling, employment and children Race and gender differences were also evident when other data were analyzed, such as schooling, employment status and income, and presence of children in the family. In the case of households headed by people with eight or more years of schooling, the lack of food was greater when a black woman was at the head: 33%. This number was lower in the case of black men (21.3%), white women (17.8%) and white men (9.8%). In families with unemployment problems or informal work, hunger reached half of those headed by black people. When it came to white people, a third of the homes were impacted. Severe food insecurity was more frequent in households headed by black women (39.5%) and black men (34.3%). In situations where the responsible person had a formal job, and the monthly family income was greater than one minimum wage per capita (for each individual), food security was present in 80% of households headed by white people and in 73% of headed by black people. The presence of children under 10 years of age in families was also an important factor. In this context, food security was a reality in only 21.3% of households headed by black women, less than half of those headed by white men (52.5%) and almost half of those headed by white women (39.5%). .
Agência Brasil
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