Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean is at its highest point in two decades, UN says

Tens of millions are going hungry in Latin America and the Caribbean as the Covid-19 pandemic sharpens a regional malnutrition crisis to its worst levels in decades, according to the United Nations.

In just one year -- from 2019 to 2020 -- the number of people living with hunger in the region rose by 30%, or 13.8 million people, a new United Nations Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition report said.

While the coronavirus poses its own health threat, the pandemic's economic fallout has also meant empty cupboards. Months of lockdowns and travel restrictions hit informal jobs in particular, in a region where missing work one day can mean having little to eat the next.