The sixth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development – where authorities and representatives of governments, the United Nations System, international organizations, the private sector, academia and civil society will review the progress and challenges related to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region – will take place on April 25-28 at ECLAC’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile. The regional forum – which has been held annually since 2017 – aims to provide those responsible for implementing the 2030 Agenda in countries with a space conducive to peer learning through a set of interactive sessions in which, by discussing experiences and shared goals, they can identify good practices, enabling the Forum’s member countries to offer recommendations and present them to the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The HLPF is the global mechanism for follow-up on the 2030 Agenda, and it meets each year in July in New York under the auspices of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This sixth intergovernmental meeting will be inaugurated on Wednesday, April 26 at 8:30 a.m. local time in Santiago, Chile (GMT-4) by Santiago Cafiero, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina, the country that is serving as Chair of ECLAC in the 2022-2024 biennium; Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; Paula Narváez, Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations, in her capacity as Vice President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); and José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). It will be preceded on Tuesday, April 25 by a meeting of the mechanism for civil society participation in the Sustainable Development Agenda and in the Forum, and by a gathering of the Regional Collaborative Platform for Latin America and the Caribbean. In the framework of the Forum, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs will present a document entitled “Halfway to 2030 in Latin America and the Caribbean: progress and recommendations for acceleration,” the sixth report on regional progress and challenges in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which has been prepared by the Secretariat (held by ECLAC) and which analyzes the evolution and current state of progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17, along with projections for their fulfillment by 2030. The meeting contemplates statements by Latin American and Caribbean country representatives at two sessions entitled “Accelerating the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels” and “Strategies to advance implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean.” In addition, five panel discussions have been organized in which the Forum’s member countries and other actors will be able to present and share their experiences and challenges in relation to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the following areas: Clean water and sanitation (SDG 6); Affordable and clean energy (SDG 7); Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9); Sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11); and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17). Finally, on Friday, April 28, a high-level roundtable will take place under the theme of “Path to the SDG Summit. Transformative initiatives: creating opportunities to strengthen commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its full implementation at all levels,” where prominent figures and authorities from the region will debate transformative initiatives for confronting global challenges and creating opportunities to bolster the commitment to the 2030 Agenda and accelerate its full implementation, in view of the Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (to be held on September 19-20, 2023 in the framework of the UN General Assembly’s high-level segment). The full programme of the sixth meeting of the Forum is available at the event’s special website: https://foroalc2030.cepal.org/2023/en Journalists and other members of the press who want to attend this event in person must register using this form: https://eventos.cepal.org/event/102/. They will receive an automated email response once their registration has been accepted.   IMPORTANT NOTE: Submitting the registration form is a prerequisite for attending the meeting in person, but it does NOT guarantee access to the event. Local organizers can restrict entry, if need be, due to attendance capacity restrictions or for security or other reasons arising at the time. We thank you in advance for your understanding and respect for these conditions. The event’s official activities can be followed live online via the meeting’s website, ECLAC’s official Internet portal www.cepal.org, the web page https://live.cepal.org/ and the Commission’s institutional accounts on Twitter (https://twitter.com/cepal_onu) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cepal.onu). What: Sixth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development. When: Tuesday, April 25 to Friday, April 28, 2023. Who: Inauguration, Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. local time in Chile (GMT -4): Santiago Cafiero, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Paula Narváez, Vice President of ECOSOC and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC. Where: Virtual connection via several platforms: Meeting website https://foroalc2030.cepal.org/2023/en ECLAC’s website www.cepal.org Web page https://live.cepal.org/ Official account on Twitter https://twitter.com/cepal_onu Official account on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cepal.onu   For queries related to journalistic coverage of this event, contact ECLAC’s Public Information Unit in Santiago, Chile. Email: prensa@cepal.org; Telephone: (56) 22210 2040.

Much of Guyana’s economic activity, especially agriculture, is concentrated in low-lying areas and 90% of the country’s population live on a coastal plain which lies below sea level. The impact of rising sea levels and intensified storm surges in Guyana could exceed 46.4 percent in Gross Domestic Product losses. Despite extensive urban and rural drainage, Georgetown’s system is frequently overwhelmed, resulting in severe flooding which causes damage to infrastructure, and disrupts urban activities, hampering the prosperity and wellbeing of affected communities.  “The World Bank is pleased to support Guyana, as the country seeks to build its climate resilience”, said Diletta Doretti, World Bank’s Resident Representative for Guyana. “Flooding not only has negative impacts on lives and livelihoods but can also impact health, due to communicable diseases”, Ms. Doretti added. The World Bank official further commended the Government of Guyana for awarding the contracts to local companies. The interventions financed under these contracts will reduce flood levels in two catchment areas, and include replacement of existing pumps, additional pumping capacity, rehabilitation of the sluice gates at Ogle, and two mobile pumps, also at Ogle. Further, the Flood Risk Management Project supports upgrading critical sections of the East Demerara Water Conservancy Dams, and institutional strengthening for flood risk reduction while also facilitating project management and implementation support, through local agencies and institutions. Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha highlighted the necessity to improve the drainage systems across the country as they impact development outcomes. He said, “as we are improving the flood risk management of our country, we are seeing more development especially in the agriculture sector. This project will help the entire eastern part of Region Four which will contribute to the ease of flooding in these areas.” The Bank and the Government of Guyana expressed their mutual commitment to improving flood risk management, during the signing event for contractors. Contacts: In the Caribbean: Penny Bowen, pbowen@worldbankgroup.org   Learn more about the work of the World Bank in the Caribbean: https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/caribbean  
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January 18, 2022, Santiago, Chile. The new United Nations report Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2022 finds that 22.5% of the Latin America and the Caribbean population cannot afford a healthy diet. In the Caribbean this figure reaches 52%; in Mesoamerica, 27.8%; and in South America, 18.4%. The publication reports that 131.3 million people in the region could not afford a healthy diet in 2020. This represents an increase of 8 million compared to 2019 and is due to the higher average daily cost of healthy diets in Latin America and the Caribbean compared to the rest of the world's regions, reaching in the Caribbean a value of USD 4.23, followed by South America and Mesoamerica with USD 3.61 and USD 3.47, respectively. This problem is related to different socioeconomic and nutritional indicators. The report presents a clear relationship between the inability to afford a healthy diet and such variables as a country's income level, the incidence of poverty, and the level of inequality. The report also reveals that the rise in international food prices experienced since 2020, exacerbated after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and a regional increase in food inflation above the general level, have increased the difficulties for people to access a healthy diet. The document also includes recommendations based on evidence and an analysis of policies already implemented to improve the availability and affordability of nutritious foods, focusing on supporting the most vulnerable people and low-income households that spend a more significant proportion of their budget on food. "There is no individual policy that can solve this problem independently. National and regional coordination mechanisms need to be strengthened to respond to hunger and malnutrition," said Mario Lubetkin, FAO Assistant Director and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean. "To contribute to the affordability of healthy diets, it is necessary to create incentives for the diversification of the production of nutritious foods aimed mainly at family farming and small-scale producers, take measures for the transparency of the prices of these foods in markets and trade, and actions such as cash transfers and improving school menus," Lubetkin concluded. Trade and market policies can play a fundamental role in improving food security and nutrition. Greater transparency and efficiency improve inter-regional agri-food trade by replacing uncertainty with market predictability and stability. "We are talking about the region of the world with the most expensive healthy diet, which particularly affects vulnerable populations – small farmers, rural women, and indigenous and Afro-descendant populations – who allocate a greater percentage of their income to the purchase of food," said IFAD Regional Director Rossana Polastri. "To reverse this situation, we must promote innovative solutions that diversify production and increase the supply of healthy food, and that improve small producers' access to markets and quality food, including digital solutions that articulate food supply and demand." The report also describes how some nutrition-sensitive social protection programs have worked and are essential to support the diets of the most vulnerable population, particularly in periods of crisis. “Food insecurity will continue to rise due to the food and fuel price crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine and the aftermath of COVID-19,” said Lola Castro, WFP Regional Director. “We must act now, but how can we do it? Supporting governments to expand social protection networks because the pandemic once again demonstrated that social protection is useful to improve the affordability of a healthy diet, preventing crises like this from hitting affected populations even more”. Other food policies, such as nutritional labelling, subsidizing nutritious foods, and taxing unhealthy or non-nutritious foods that do not contribute to healthy diets, if well designed, can improve the affordability of healthy diets and prevent debilitating conditions and diseases related to overweight and obesity. "We must redouble efforts to address malnutrition in all its forms by promoting public policies to create healthy food environments, eliminate industrially produced trans fats, implement front-end warning labeling, regulate advertising of unhealthy foods, tax sugary drinks, and support healthy eating and physical activity in schools," PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne said. "Understanding the factors that determine poor dietary practices is key to finding solutions and ensuring that everyone in the region has access to healthy foods," she said. For example, countries with higher levels of poverty and inequality tend to have more significant difficulties accessing a healthy diet, which is directly associated with a higher prevalence of hunger, chronic malnutrition in boys and girls, and anemia in women aged 15 to 49. “For children to grow up healthy, it is not only urgent to ensure the availability of nutritious food at affordable prices. It is also necessary to develop public policies that guarantee adequate nutrition, in addition to nutritional counseling, focusing actions on the most vulnerable populations,” said Dr. Garry Conille, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. The socioeconomic panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean is not encouraging. The most affected population groups are children under five and women, who suffer a higher prevalence of food insecurity than men. The Regional Panorama of Food and Nutrition Security 2022 is a joint publication of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO); the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). The number of hungry people in the region continues to rise Between 2019 and 2021, the number of hungry people in the region increased by 13.2 million, reaching 56.5 million hungry people in 2021. The highest increase was in South America, where an additional 11 million people suffered from hunger. Between 2019 and 2021, hunger reached a prevalence of 7.9% in South America, 8.4% in Mesoamerica, and 16.4% in the Caribbean. In 2021, 40.6% of the regional population experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, compared to 29.3% worldwide. Severe food insecurity was also more frequent in the region (14.2%) than in the world (11.7%). Other figures presented in the report indicate that the region registers an important and positive evolution regarding the prevalence of chronic malnutrition in children under five years of age. In 2020, this figure was 11.3% in Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately ten percentage points below the world average. However, 3.9 million children up to five years of age are overweight. Read the report: https://www.fao.org/3/CC2314EN/online/sofi-statistics-rlc-2022/key-messages-ch-1.html https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc3859en

  Ms. Flores will meet with His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, other national authorities, members of the political opposition, civil society, and private sector. In addition, Ms. Flores will be received by Her Excellency Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of CARICOM. DPPA is the United Nations entity responsible for the UN’s relations with regional organizations. After visiting Guyana, Ms. Flores will proceed to Suriname for a similar familiarization visit.