MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil out of FAO's Hunger Map

Brazil had returned to the FAO's Hunger Map in the 2018-2020 period

Brazil was not included in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO/UN) State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 (SOFI 2025) presented Monday (28) during the 2nd United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS+4) in Ethiopia.

The South American country managed once again to step out of the infamous Hunger Map after being below the threshold of 2.5% of its population at risk of malnutrition or lack of access to sufficient food.

The Hunger Map is a global indicator from the FAO that identifies countries where more than 2.5% of the population suffers from severe undernourishment (chronic food insecurity).

Being on the Hunger Map means that a significant portion of the country's population does not have regular access to enough food for a healthy life. The SOFI report always publishes this indicator in the form of three-year averages, considering information from the last three years.

Brazil had achieved this in 2014, but returned to the Hunger Map in the 2018-2020 period. Now, in the 2022/2024 triennium, it is back below 2.5%.

A note released in Brasilia by the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family, and Hunger Alleviation highlights that “the achievement was reached in just two years, considering that 2022 was a period considered critical for hunger in Brazil.”

“Brazil's exit from the Hunger Map is the result of political decisions by the Brazilian government that prioritized poverty reduction, stimulating job and income generation, supporting family farming, strengthening school feeding, and access to healthy food,” the note explains.

The FAO uses a number of indicators to monitor the food situation in countries. The main one is the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU), which is used to construct the Hunger Map. This indicator identifies the percentage of the population at risk of undernourishment in each country.

The PoU is calculated based on three variables: the amount of food available in the country, considering domestic production, imports, and exports; food consumption by the population, considering differences in purchasing power (income); and the adequate amount of calories per day, defined for an average individual representative of the population. (Source: Agencia Brasil)