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 the profiles created from the intersection of gender (male and female) and race/colour (white and black) for the household reference person. Odds ratio (OR) values were calculated using multinomial logistic regression models to assess the association between reference person profiles and FI levels. Results Although the proportion of households with moderate+severe FI increased in the first two years of the pandemic among households headed by black people, the prevalence of severe FI was significantly greater for households headed by black women (2.2 versus 3.2; 95% CI 2.52; 4.00). 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.