Latin America must be a priority for Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean “It has to be a priority for Europe” to continue helping the region deal with issues such as the climate crisis, migration and the fight against hunger, the regional director said. World Food Program (WFP), Spanish Lola Castro.

That is “one of the messages” of this program United Nations in front of the top between European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) next Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, Castro said in an interview with EFE.

This maximum appointment of two blocs, representing 61 countries and 21% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), is the first in 8 years. It will happen when humanity faces simultaneous crises, including economic ones, which affect the budgets of organizations such as WFP.

The biggest donors of the program, “who are United States, Canada and others are reducing the resources they put into humanitarian and development aid,” Castro explained.

“And what worries us a little more is to see how some countries in European Union come out of Latin America and the Caribbean as a priority,” he said.

But “Latin America and the Caribbean must be a priority for Europe, because we have a climate crisis that affects the whole continent in an aggravated way and this is important at the global level. That forests are cut down, that mangroves are not replanted, that people are increasingly affected these hurricanes that leave them with nothing to eat,” he asserted.

And the climate crisis is also one of the causes of the “high migration” recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the “lack of income” that prevents adequate nutrition for millions of people in the region.

“You have to work with communities, there are many options in countries so that people can have a normal, healthy life, and for that you need social transfers, to support them with different actions. In WFP we are working on that. So the EU must continue with these priorities that the region has: the climate crisis, migration,” Castro said.

FOOD INSECURITY IN 13 COUNTRIES OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

In the 13 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean where the WFP works, “we have 40 million people in need of food,” that is, “who cannot eat adequate, varied and nutritious food three times a day. This is one of the big problems” in the region, Castro said. .

“But there are 10 million of them with acute food shortages, There are 4.9 million of them in Haiti“, he added.

This reality is a direct consequence of the “great social inequality” that exists in the region and the climate crisis “which is permanent and worsens every year”.

SUMMIT ISSUES AND FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY

“Latin America and the Caribbean is a region with a lot of opportunities and there is little that will be discussed at the EU summit with Celac,” Castro said.

At the meeting, “the climate crisis will succeed” and “what actions can be taken in Latin America and the Caribbean together with Europe to improve laws to ensure environmental protection, but also to improve the quality of life of people living in vulnerable areas. This is part of food safety.”

Another point “it is also very important to connect the public-private sector with the institutional sector and see what we can do together (…) not to work separately to achieve better food and nutrition security, all together.”

In that aspect, “there are issues such as strategic (food) reserves, improving trade, transportation. There are many areas that are very important at this summit that I think will come to light,” he added.