Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean present multiple challenges to reduce poverty and hunger in the region and achieve the 2030 Agenda

Countries from Latin America and the Caribbean today exchanged experiences on the different policies and strategies they are carrying out to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 1 (end of poverty) and 2 (zero hunger), agreeing on the need to address them in a manner comprehensive to ensure the success of the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, during the third day of the seventh meeting of the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries on Sustainable Development (April 15-18), held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.

In the first panel of the day, titled Promoting the priorities of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for the achievement of the 2030 Agendagovernment officials and other representatives addressed the specific challenges that countries in this subregion face and that are undermining their ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Diane Quarless, Director of the ECLAC subregional headquarters for the Caribbean, moderator of the table, mentioned the high exposure of these nations to external shocks, the devastating impacts of climate change, the destruction of productive assets (as a consequence of the pandemic of COVID-19), high levels of public debt and debt service, and limited access to financing on favorable conditions, among others.

Participating in the debate were Joy-Marie King, Director of International Trade at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Immigration of Antigua and Barbuda; Rochelle W. Newbold, Special Advisor on Climate Change and Environmental Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister of the Bahamas; Shennel Richards, Director of Research, Office of the Prime Minister of Barbados; Kennethia Douglas, Project Manager of the SDG Technical Coordination Secretariat of the Ministry of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago; Benito Wheatley, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of the British Virgin Islands; Jemiah Prince, Legal Advisor to the President's Committee of the Caribbean Regional Youth Council.

The representatives reaffirmed the commitment of their countries to achieving the 2030 Agenda, but stressed the need for the international community to recognize the obvious difficulties that the Caribbean has in accessing financing for development, acting accordingly. It is necessary to overcome the classification criteria of countries by income levels and form multi-stakeholder alliances, among other strategies, they said.

Later, at the table that analyzed the SDG 1: End povertynational and subnational authorities, international officials and representatives of civil society analyzed the different strategies that countries are following to eradicate poverty in a region that is characterized by great inequality, volatility and vulnerability.

Although the percentage of people in poverty fell in 2022 (returning to pre-pandemic levels), more than 180 million people in Latin America today do not have sufficient income to cover their basic needs (29% of the total population). and, among them, 70 million do not have income to purchase a basic food basket (11.2% of the region's population), according to the report Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 of ECLAC.

Poverty “has a face” (it affects women, indigenous and Afro-descendant people and rural populations to a greater extent), it is multidimensional and has serious consequences both on individual trajectories and on society as a whole, the participants recognized, for which requires a comprehensive approach.

It is necessary, as they stated, to increase economic growth and productivity and create more quality jobs; mobilize a greater amount of internal resources (for example, through progressive tax reforms) and external resources (highlighting the role of regional development banks); implement policies with a rights-based, intersectional and life cycle approach, involving multiple actors; and develop comprehensive, sustainable and resilient universal social protection systems. The importance of implementing comprehensive care systems, among other measures, was also highlighted.

The panel included interventions by Irais Graciela Barreto Canales, Executive Secretary of the National Council of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Head of the Global Economic Intelligence Unit of the Ministry of Economy of Mexico; Jorge Aldana, Mayor of Tegucigalpa (Honduras); Andrea Repetto, President of the Chilean Poverty Overcoming Foundation; and Igor Pantoja, Coordinator of Institutional Relations of the Sustainable Cities Institute of Brazil and representative of the Civil Society Participation Mechanism in the Sustainable Development Agenda and in the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development.

They were joined by Elbert Ellis, Senior Operations Officer of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) (virtual); Wellington Dias, Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger of Brazil (by video); and Luis Felipe López-Calva, Managing Director of the World Bank's Poverty and Equity Global Practice (via video), moderated by María-Noel Vaeza, Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).

Finally, a panel was held dedicated to SDG 2: Zero hungerin which national and regional actions that are being carried out to achieve the goal of ending hunger, achieving food security and promoting sustainable agriculture in the region were analyzed.

According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 43 million people currently suffer from hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean (6.5% of the region's population, mostly women) and 37 % of the population suffers from food insecurity.

Authorities and specialists stressed the importance of promoting sustainable agri-food systems in the region with a comprehensive, multi-actor perspective and with a gender and territorial approach, considering all the links in the chain. In a global and regional scenario of cascading crises and limited resources, the effectiveness of policies and programs is key, they said.

It is urgent to address the climate crisis and disaster management, invest in science, technology and innovation, strengthen social protection systems, improve value chains, guarantee fair prices to producers, rediscover ancestral foods, promote local purchases and enhance school feeding, among other measures, they indicated.

Jimmy Eduardo Bermúdez Perdomo, Executive Director of the Ministerial Office of the Secretariat of State of the Presidency of Honduras, participated in the table; Amaro Angel Rivadeneira, National Director of Monitoring and Evaluation of the National Center for Strategic Planning (CEPLAN) of Peru; Lola Castro, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the World Food Program (WFP); and Hernán Chiriboga, Representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Chile.

Other speakers were Yamandú Plada, Director of Fundraising of the Shared Food Network (REDALCO) of Uruguay; and Marcela Browne, Education Coordinator of the SES Foundation and Secretary of the Argentine Campaign for the Right to Education (CADE) and representative of the Civil Society Participation Mechanism in the Sustainable Development Agenda and in the Forum, moderated by Mario Lubetkin, FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean.

On the final day of the Forum, Thursday, April 18, the Table 3: “SDG 13: Climate Action”; the Table 4: “SDG 16: Peace, justice and solid institutions” and the Table 5: “SDG 17: Alliances to achieve the Goals”.