The unequal face of hunger: how gender and race/colour have exacerbated food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic—a cross-sectional analysis

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated Food Insecurity (FI) in a heterogeneous way across different household profiles. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic on FI in Brazil according to the intersections of race/colour and the gender of household heads. Methods: Microdata from the 1st and 2nd Food Insecurity Surveys in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic (VIGISAN) were used (1st VIGISAN: n = 2,180; 2nd VIGISAN: n = 12,745). FI levels were compared according to four groups for the head of households (White men, Black men, White women and Black women). Odds ratio (OR) values were calculated using multinomial logistic regression models to assess the association between reference person profiles and FI levels. Marginal effects were estimated after adjusting the final model. Results: In Brazilian households, the proportion of Food Security (FS) decreased, while levels of Food Insecurity (FI) increased. The chances of being in moderate + severe FI increased significantly, especially in households headed by Brown/Black women, from 2.2 (95% CI 1.3;3.7) to 3.2 (95% CI 2.5;4.0). Conclusions: The results of this study reinforce the need to plan equitable public policies that debate the intersectionality of gender and race/colour as a way of guaranteeing food and nutritional security in Brazil.