A new report by the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says that extreme poverty in the region has risen significantly due to the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“The health crisis is still ongoing, and Latin America and the Caribbean is the world’s most vulnerable region in this pandemic,” said ECLAC, adding that, as a result of the prolonged health and social crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the extreme poverty rate in the region has risen from 13.1 per cent of the population in 2020 to 13.8 per cent in 2021.
ECLAC said this represents a 27-year setback, while the overall poverty rate is estimated to have fallen slightly, from 33 per cent to 32.1 per cent of the population.
“This means that the number of people living in extreme poverty went from 81 million to 86 million, while the total number of people in situations of poverty declined slightly from 204 million to 201 million,” ECLAC said.
“Despite the economic recovery experienced in 2021, the estimated relative and absolute levels of poverty and extreme poverty have remained above those recorded in 2019, which reflects the ongoing social crisis,” stated the annual report, titled “Social Panorama of Latin America 2021”.
