“There are times that I have only eaten one dish in the day…”. are the words of Antonio Mejiaa 72-year-old man from Barranquilla who goes out every day to search for “any peso” in the Barranquilla Center.
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His economic situation prevents him from being part of that 36.6 percent of households that can still say that at least in the last few days they ate three meals a day in the capital of the Atlantic, according to Dane figures.
Since the pandemic issue began, it has ruined my work financially and morally
This data from the national statistics authority was produced in the Social Pulse Surveycorresponding to the November 2021 – January 2022 quarter, which ranked the city and its metropolitan area in last place for food security.
In the Dane report, in addition to Barranquilla, 22 other cities in the country were taken into account, with which the entity was able to define the percentage of households that consume three or more meals a day.
Two other towns in the Caribbean region, such as Sincelejo (45.5 percent) and Cartagena (39.6 percent), are located in the penultimate and penultimate place, respectively.
In the case of ‘Toño’, as he is known in the city center, he is in charge of his children and partner, so bringing enough money to meet the needs basic is not an impossible mission, but it has been difficult since the pandemic began.
“Since the pandemic issue began, it has ruined my work financially and morally. That is going to be two full years next month, so I see it as very bad, because we do not see a solution,” said Mejía.
Colleagues of ‘Toño’ are desperate for the situation. They seek visibility so that everything improves.
Vanexa Romero /THE TIME
To whatever God wants, because one already has to resign oneself. One cannot compose things oneself, but only the one who is up there
In that sense, he does not forget that recently he had to go out without breakfast and how little he gathered shining shoes downtown Cívico –work to which he has been dedicated since the 80s- did not have enough for lunch and he preferred to save the day’s produce to share dinner with the family.
That was the only dish that this Barranquilla native and his family saw that day. He leaves on his bicycle at 6 am in the direction of his workplace, from the Carrizal neighborhood, in the Metropolitan area of Barranquilla, hoping that “the sun shines every day.”
“Whatever God wants, because one already has to resign oneself. One cannot compose things oneself, but only the one who is up there. There are times when I have only eaten one…”, said Mejía, who had to suspend the interview to serve a new client. Duty calls.
And it is that the accounts that the citizen makes are in accordance with the Dane report, because before the covid-19 pandemic, 79.6 percent of households in the capital of the Atlantic had the resources to consume all three meals.
Barranquilla is the latest in food safety
Now, comparing this last quarter reported by the statistics agency with that corresponding to the immediately previous quarter (October 2021 – December 2021), the indicator shows a slight improvement.
Since, that time, the percentage of households that were able to consume three or more meals on average daily was 33.9.
However, another fact that arises when comparing these two periods is that at that time Barranquilla was penultimate in the list of 23 cities, which closed Cartagena. Today, ‘La Heroica’ relegated ‘La Arenosa’ to the pitiful position of the Colombian city that suffers the most from hunger.
The panorama if the metropolitan area were excluded
In February 2021, 61 percent said they had not had access to their three meals due to lack of resources, in November it was 50 percent
For the director of Barranquilla How We Are Going, Katherine Diartt Pombo, this situation is due to the pandemic. And with it, the social backwardness that the economic decline brought with it. Therefore, she considers that this is not just a challenge for the city, but also for most intermediate cities in the world.
“If you analyze the FAO reports, wars, health crises, inflationary bubbles, sadly always end up affecting the vulnerable population and their ability to access a healthy diet to a greater extent,” said Diartt.
He recalled that in the survey of Barranquilla How are we doingin which they only measure perception in the city, have observed a slight improvement in that area.
“In February 2021, 61 percent said they had not had access to their three meals due to lack of resources, in November it was 50 percent. That is, we observe a reduction of 10 percent. There is still a lot to work on and recover in this aspect, but we are also beginning to witness the positive that the economic reactivation brings with it,” Diartt said.
This is how the ‘megaproject’ announced by the District goes
190,000 million pesos (between 2021 and 2023) where the most adverse social indicators converge
These figures are known six months after the District Mayor’s Office announced a “megaproject” to combat hunger and poverty in the city.
When the strategy was socialized, the administration informed that it would be possible through education programshealth, social management, and recreation and sports by localities and vulnerable groups.
He also added that the megaproject would exceed an investment “of 190,000 million pesos (between 2021 and 2023) where the most adverse social indicators converge,” according to the manager of Social Development, Alfredo Carbonell.
Among the strategies are: nutritional assistance and food securitytraining for work and employability, double bachelor’s degree-labor technicians and targeting of programs to combat poverty traps.
Barranquilleros go to the ‘rebusque’ to be able to feed their family.
Vanexa Romero / TIME
In order to find out how this megaproject is progressing, EL TIEMPO consulted Carbonell, who stated that food security has become “one of the main challenges of Mayor Jaime Pumarejo’s administration.”
“In the first place, we have focused important efforts, seeking to guarantee nutritional support to children and expectant mothers, through the Early Childhood programs and the PAE,” said the official.
He added that, through social management, with programs of feeding in the CDIapproximately 47,800 children and expectant mothers are beneficiaries of the nutritional delivery and recovery programs.
“Early childhood has an investment of $60 billion, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2021, within the framework of the early childhood care agreement with the ICBF. With the PAE there is an investment of $41 billion, 126,000 students are served”, he said.
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While, with respect to programs for the elderly, he estimates a $8 billion investment and 8,260 older adults are benefiting from comprehensive and nutritional care in the life and wellness centers.
“In addition, in subsidy for the elderly during the current term, about $ 3,200 million will be delivered. Likewise, the programs for homeless people have an investment of $1,619 million, reaching 500 homeless people to benefit,” said Carbonell.
Thus, Mr. ‘Toño’ Mejía and 63.4 percent of Barranquilla households that do not manage to consume the three dishes of the day keep the hope of eating again “as God intended.”
Deivis Lopez Ortega
Correspondent of EL TIEMPO Barranquilla
On twitter: @dejholopez
Write me at deilop@eltiempo.com
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