Annual Report of the Caribbean Food and Nutrition, 2009

Abstract

If the food crisis in 2008 was about soaring prices, the financial crisis of 2009 is about lower purchasing power. When combined, these unleash devastating consequences to poor countries and communities, particularly on nutrition in children. But the Food-Fuel-Finance crises of the last few years were also instructive and compel us to scale up the nutrition capacity to buffer countries against future shocks. The vulnerability of small island developing states is even greater and calls for synergies among health systems, social protection, food security and poverty reduction. The Caribbean is prone to natural disasters, particularly hurricanes. Between June and November each year the region is threatened by several tropical storms which often bring with them floods and land slides. The region also experiences regular periods of drought and, less frequently, earthquakes. Hurricanes, floods and drought often devastate the crops and the agriculture base of the Caribbean economies. This has a direct effect on domestic food supplies and also foreign exchange earnings which are required to buy food, among other needs (Dr. Fitzroy Henry Director, CFNI).