Unemployment could put Brazil back on the Hunger Map, says FAO leader.

247 - Brazilian José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), says he is concerned about the possibility of Brazil once again having hunger as one of its chronic and structural problems.

"If Brazil fails to resume economic growth, generate quality jobs, and have a food security program specifically aimed at the most deprived areas, we could, unfortunately, return to being part of the FAO's Hunger Map," he warns in an email interview with UOL from the institution's world headquarters in Rome, Italy.

The Hunger Map is a study produced since 1990 by the FAO, the leading international organization promoting policies to combat hunger and promote food security. The map gathers and analyzes data on the food security situation of the world's population, providing diagnoses by region and country.

Brazil was removed from the "hunger blacklist" in 2014. For the first time, according to the FAO, less than 5% of Brazilians consumed fewer calories per day than recommended. A country with more than 5% of its population undernourished is added to the list. In 2014, people with severe food insecurity in Brazil represented 3% of the population.

Globally, from 2015 to 2016, hunger increased, driven by armed conflicts and economic crisis: according to the institution, 815 million people are living with hunger.

In the following interview, Graziano, one of the creators of the Zero Hunger program, argues that "it is necessary to make the issue of hunger a political problem in order for it to be the subject of public policies."

The information is from rReport by Guilherme Azevedo on UOL.