Data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad) released this Thursday (25) revealed that 27.6% of Brazilian households live with some type of food insecurity.
The index represents a drop in relation to the Family Budget Survey (POF) of 2017 and 2018, which showed different levels of food insecurity in 36.7% of households in the country. Both studies are from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
Despite the drop in the last five years, the prevalence of food insecurity is 5% higher than that found in the previous Pnad, carried out in 2013. At the time, the IBGE found that the problem affected 22.6% of households in Brazil.
Between the two IBGE surveys, carried out in 2018 and 2023, severe food insecurity fell from 4.6% of households to 4.1%; moderate was reduced from 8.1% to 5.3%; and mild went from 24% to 18%.
Prevalence among women, black people and the North and Northeast regions
According to the most recent PNAD, the North region has the highest rate of food insecurity (39.7%). Following closely behind are the Northeast (38.8), Central-West (24.3%), Southeast (23%) and South (16.6).
In the North and Northeast regions, almost a quarter of the population faces mild food insecurity, meaning residents have concerns or uncertainty about their ability to access food in the near future. In this classification, the quality of the food consumed may be compromised.
The research also shows that households headed by women tend to have less access to quality food. Of the total number of Brazilian households experiencing food insecurity, 59.4% are headed by women, and 40.6% by men.
The lack of food is proportionally greater in households headed by black and brown people than by white people. White people, who represent 42% of the Brazilian population, account for 29% of food insecure households. Black people, who make up 12% of the population, command 15.2 percent of households that live with the problem. Brown people, who make up 44.7% of Brazilians, account for 54.5% of homes where there is a lack of food.
The percentage of households in rural areas experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity was the lowest in the historical series, 12.7%. The rate is higher than that found in urban areas, which was 8.9%.
Food insecurity is not the same as hunger; understand
Food insecurity is a condition in which people do not have sufficient access to food in adequate quantity and quality, or feel the threat of being restricted in the near future. According to IBGE criteria, food insecurity can be classified into three levels:
Light: Residents have concerns or uncertainty about their ability to access food in the near future. Food quality may be compromised, that is, food variety and preference may be limited.
Moderate: Residents reduce the amount of food they eat. Adults, in particular, restrict the amount of food to protect the children in the house.
Serious: All residents, including children, experience severe food deprivation, which can lead to hunger.
These criteria are used by IBGE to assess food and nutritional security in a population, using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (Ebia).
What is Continuous Pnad
The Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad Contínua) is a survey carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) that aims to produce continuous information on the population’s insertion in the job market, considering demographic and educational characteristics.
The research is carried out using a probabilistic sample of households, extracted from a master sample of census sectors, which guarantees the representativeness of the results for the different geographic areas. Each quarter, PNAD Contínua investigates around 211 thousand households.
Editing: Thalita Pires
Tags: Food insecurity falls Brazil
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