Food crisis adds 500,000 to Guatemala, El Salvador's poor

[AlphaCentauri]

The current world food crisis has pushed at least 500,000 people in Guatemala and El Salvador into poverty, officials with the United Nations World Food Program(WFP) said Wednesday.

These people were already a step away from falling into extreme poverty, and now the lack of food has "sunk" them, reports from El Salvador quoted the officials as saying.

The situation in the two Central American nations, is "worrying," as it has a tendency to deteriorate, Carlo Scaramella, a representative of the WFP, said at a food forum this week in El Salvador's capital San Salvador.

Following the rise in food prices, the poor are able to buy less food with the same amount of money than in the past, said Scaramella.

Lack of food and the uncontrollable rise in fuel prices have endangered UN plans and programs to fight starvation, he said.

Guatemala's population stands at about 12.7 million, and El Salvador has a population of about 6.6 million.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/29/content_8274441.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Thanks for the article. What a horrible failure. Hope it can be reversed somehow. Thank you. n/t