  

Tag Archive for: Malnutrition in Mexico

GET SMARTER

Posts Global Poverty 101

GLOBAL POVERTY Global Poverty… The

TOP 10 FACTS ABOUT

Good News

Global Poverty & U.S.

HUNGER IN MEXICO Jobs

Global Poverty and

National Security

Innovative Solutions to
Poverty

Global Poverty & Aid

FAQ’s

Mexico has suffered from the effects of poverty and food insecurity for
decades. The problem does not lie in food unavailability but in the fact Search 
that areas living in poverty do not make enough money to purchase
necessary goods. This issue is being addressed and alleviated by nonprofit
organizations like The Hunger Project (THP) and even the country’s
President, Enrique Peña Nieto. In the text below top 10 facts about TAKE ACTION
hunger in Mexico are presented.
Call Congress

Email Congress

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Mexico Donate

30 Ways to Help
 Volunteer Ops
1. About 8.5 million residents
[https://foodsecurityfoodjustice.com/2017/02/05/food-security-in- Internships

mexico/]  of Mexico or about 7 percent of the population need to live

on less than $2 a day.

2. Mexico is experiencing an unbalanced distribution of wealth where

the richest part of the population has nearly 14 times more money
than the poorest one. As different social classes have different access
to food the main problem with food insecurity is accessibility, not
availability.

3. At least 10 percent of all residents of Mexico experience poor access

to food
[https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Food%20Security
9-2010.pdf] , while the inadequate food access affects between 25
and 35 percent of the population in nine states.

4. Mexico suffers from issues with malnutrition, anemia, overweight

and obesity. The rates of malnutrition have dropped significantly but
about 13 percent of children under the age of 5 suffer from
malnutrition and one in four children is overweight or obese. Rates of
malnutrition are highest in rural areas and obesity is highest in urban
areas.

5. Between 2003 and 2005, the food supply per capita daily in Mexico
was 3,270 kilocalories on average, while the minimum requirements
are only 1,850 kilocalories per capita daily.

6. According to data acquired by the National Survey of Wholesale,

Food and Nutritional Status in Rural Areas  (ENAAEN), all food
groups for a healthy diet were available for sale within the
communities. The problem is that residents do not have sufficient
income to purchase all the goods they need.

7. In 2008, 18.2 percent of the population in Mexico was in poverty

meaning they could not buy adequate food for their families even if
they use their entire income. An analysis done by CONEVAL found
that the states with the highest percentages of food poverty were
Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca.

8. Since nearly 52 million people in Mexico suffer from hunger,

President Enrique Peña Nieto instituted an executive order that he
would fight the issue directly. In Chiapas, he announced the program
called La Cruzada Nacional contra el Hambre (National Crusade
against Hunger
[https://www.americasquarterly.org/content/mexico%E2%80%99s-
crusade-against-hunger] ). The program works to enhance the social
 development, education and defense amongst 400 of the country’s
poorest communities. He also began Sistema Nacional contra el
Hambre (National System against Hunger) that works to be a legal
medium for government agencies and the communities over issues
about hunger.

9. A nonprofit organization called The Hunger Project (THP) is working

to fight hunger [http://www.thp.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/08/Hunger-Project-Mexico-Annual-Report-
2013.pdf] and poverty with strategies that are sustainable,
grassroots and women-centered. They have also been addressing
issues of food insecurity in Mexico.

10. In 2013, THP celebrated 30 years of working in Mexico. Between

1987 and 1997, THP was focused mainly on raising awareness of the
problem and raising money to alleviate the hunger. Later on, between
1998 and 2004, it trained people to become change agents, with the
primary goal to develop change within the communities. The training
began in Mexico City and assigned the change agents into some the
poorest communities in the country. Finally, in 2012, it strengthened
the programs and focused on monitoring and evaluating progress.
The organization has worked in Chiapas, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi
and Oaxaca.

The top 10 facts about hunger in Mexico highlight the main problem
which can be summarized in the fact that the food is available but cannot
be accessed due to the different reasons mentioned above.

– David Daniels

Photo: Flickr [https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidstanleytravel/13084804685/in/photolist-kWg3yM-

HpY2p-229dxsM-98kxee-SG7LN1-Vdn4Zj-9Hxi36-P6nLuN-vKMNr7-nk8nKM-BwAiGu-53FkMZ-

TeFBEZ-bo9W4U-Tg1emh-f4qdqt-7jx3eV-dWaKr6-rgpUj8-aqDs7c-xZaqD-xZ7Y6-aqztpn-aqBwq5-

VtTcXV-ejqVHd-LsUXVA-77in8x-LSbp29-a1swhv-doELjY-HRxs4f-WegiSL-TNoqBS-QXzXK1-Sf8jgM-

QLf7fy-8DHiS8-n8Dg6m-amQwhb-6kTrE7-7x6v9n-SAWR9K-Es6FUz-Ery6uq-nDdiMH-RtdLom-bjXekj-

95L3UC-UGLKLJ]

NOVEMBER 8, 2018