NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Despite having one of the lowest food insecurity rates in the Caribbean at 17.2 percent, The Bahamas is facing a growing challenge as the cost of healthy diets is nearly five percent higher than the regional average, according to a newly released report from the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The UN’s 2024 Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition highlights the increasing vulnerability of countries like The Bahamas to extreme weather events, including storms, floods, and droughts, which are severely impacting food security across the region.
According to the report, 74 percent of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are now experiencing frequent extreme weather events, putting their food supply chains at risk and escalating the threat of hunger and malnutrition.
In the Caribbean, food insecurity has worsened in recent years, with hunger levels rising to 17.2 percent in 2023—an alarming increase compared to other regions.
For The Bahamas, a nation highly exposed to climate-related hazards, the impact is particularly profound. Agricultural productivity is declining, food supply chains are increasingly disrupted, and food prices continue to rise. This combination of factors is creating a difficult situation for vulnerable populations who are already struggling with economic barriers to accessing nutritious food.
The report also reveals that half of the Caribbean population, including those in The Bahamas, cannot afford a healthy diet—a problem exacerbated by climate-induced shocks. Extreme weather events continue to destroy homes, farmland, and crops, leaving communities scrambling to rebuild and recover.
Between 2021 and 2023, The Bahamas had one of the lowest prevalence rates of moderate or severe food insecurity in the Caribbean at 17.2 percent. While data on undernourishment is not consistently available for The Bahamas, the country has generally been recognized for better food security conditions compared to many others in the region. However, in 2022, the cost of a healthy diet in The Bahamas was significantly higher than the regional average, at 5.41 PPP dollars per person per day, compared to the Caribbean average of 5.16 PPP dollars.
The Bahamas’ National Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Action Plan (2017–2021) acknowledged climate variability as a key driver of food insecurity and includes measures to strengthen resilience against such crises. The report emphasized that climate extremes are a major challenge to the country’s agrifood systems, and calls for more investments in resilience and improved governance to mitigate these impacts.
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