SITUATION OVERVIEW
Argentina has been facing one of its most complex socioeconomic crises in recent years, marked by an increase in the number of people living in poverty and extreme poverty, limited access to health services and food, a shrinking labour market, and significant difficulties in sustaining livelihoods, among other issues.
Following the presidential elections of 2023, a new government took office in December. One of the first measures taken by the current administration was to declare a public emergency in economic, financial, fiscal, administrative, pension, tariff, health, and social matters through a Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU No. 70/2023), which will remain in force until December 31, 2025. This decree characterises the current context of the country as “...a situation of unprecedented gravity, generating deep imbalances, which have a negative impact on the whole population, especially in social and economic areas”. Additionally, on 27 June 2024, the Law of Bases was approved which, among other aspects, modifies the declaration of emergency to focus on four areas—administrative, economic, financial and energy—for a term of one year.
These initial measures triggered widespread popular reactions (central and territorial) expressed through mobilisations and protests, in some cases, involving political parties (opposition), sectoral groups, trade unions (including two national general strikes so far), and social organisations.
Despite previous government efforts at social assistance and protection up until 2023, the deepening socioeconomic deterioration was already evident, with the poverty rate approaching 42 per cent of the population and extreme poverty almost 12 per cent. This deterioration was exacerbated by runaway inflation, which pushed the consumer price index up by 25.5 per cent by the end of the year. In 2024, as purchasing power steadily eroded for most of the population, a University of Buenos Aires (UBA) study indicated that Argentina had become the most expensive country in the region from January to July of this year, since it takes, on average, double the income to purchase a basic food basket, which has seen continuous price increases. 3 Essential items such as fruits, vegetables, bread, rice, pasta, cereals, milk, and minced meat saw price hikes of 100 per cent to 360 per cent within the first seven months of the year, while the national price index hovered around 90 per cent.
In response, the incoming government implemented a series of measures aimed at improving macroeconomic variables (especially fiscal and trade surpluses), initially by sharply cutting government expenditures. These measures include the elimination of gas, electricity, and transportation subsidies for middle and low-income households, the closure and/or downsizing of government agencies, cutbacks in discretionary transfers to provinces, the suspension of public works, and the deregulation of private sectors such as internet, telephone, and private medical services, among others.
According to INDEC, by the end of 2023, poverty reached a total of 41.7 per cent, which represents 19.4 million people unable to afford the cost of the basic food basket. In addition, the extreme poverty rate5 reached 11.9 per cent, equivalent to 5.5 million people. The most affected regions were in the northeast, with 48.4 per cent in poverty, followed by the northwest at 45.6 per cent, and the Cuyo region at 44 per cent.
According to the Observatory of Social Debt at the Argentine Catholic University (UCA), by March 2024, the poverty rate had surged to 55.5 per cent, while the rate for extreme poverty had risen to 17.5 per cent, confirming a critical peak of a near-doubling in the number of people living in extreme vulnerability.
The living conditions of people in poverty are aggravated by inadequate housing conditions. According to the Ministry of Human Capital, 42.9 per cent live in overcrowded homes, while 18.1 per cent reside in substandard housing. This is particularly pronounced in the country’s 6,467 vulnerable neighbourhoods (“barrios populares”). Additionally, there were roughly 9,440 homeless people reported in 2023 by the National Survey of Homeless People (ReNaCALLE), mainly concentrated in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) and other major urban centres. The challenging socioeconomic environment further restricts access to fundamental rights such as health, education, work, and identity.
Against this backdrop, the ability of the most vulnerable households to cover their basic needs and maintain their livelihoods is seriously compromised, as economic opportunities dwindle. According to official INDEC figures, year-on-year inflation accelerated, reaching 289.4 per cent in April 2024. This inflationary dynamic has been aggravated by the El Niño and La Niña weather phenomena, which have negatively impacted large productive sectors7 through droughts, fires, and floods.
A stark disparity exists between the minimum living wage set by the Secretary of Labour, Employment, and Social Security (Resolution 4/2024) at ARS 202,800 (CHF 178.60) for March 2024, and the cost of the basic food basket (which determines the poverty line), which INDEC reports as ARS 268,012 (CHF 236.04) for one person, and ARS 828.150 (CHF 729.35) for a family of four. This gap forces affected populations to seek new and alternative sources of income.
In this scenario, working families are facing increasingly difficult situations when trying to cover the basic cost of living, particularly for food, compounded by increases in utility rates over the last few months.
As a result, many are forced to take on multiple jobs or supplement their income through informal trades. However, many engage in these activities without adequate knowledge or training, further complicating their situation. The lack of necessary skills limits their opportunities and reduces the effectiveness of these alternatives for improving their economic well-being. According to the CETA group, some of the most in-demand jobs in 2023 include logistics personnel, cooks, maintenance operators, and meatpacking plant workers, highlighting the importance of training in these sectors to face new labour market realities.
Children and adolescents living in disadvantaged environments, exposed to poor health, inadequate nutrition, and low levels of stimulation at home, are unable to reach their development potential, leading to a 20 per cent income deficit in adulthood. According to UNICEF (2023), monetary poverty affects 57 per cent of children and adolescents (7.1 million people), with even higher rates in impoverished neighbourhoods, where it reaches 84 per cent.
UNICEF’s report also reveals that 2.5 million children and adolescents have had to skip some meals, reduce portion sizes, or downgrade the quality of their diets. Given the broader socioeconomic context, these indicators are expected to worsen. The current government has decided to review the Community Kitchens and Soup Kitchens aid programmes, which are largely managed by social organisations, and has even initiated legal proceedings against several of them for non-compliance. This, in turn, has generated social tension and sparked marches and mobilisations demanding that the government regularise and even expand these programmes. As of 2024, if current trends persist, UNICEF projects that monetary poverty could affect up to 70 per cent of children and adolescents.
Food insecurity is also a growing concern, with the Argentine Catholic University (2024)10 confirming that 64.5 per cent of the country’s children and adolescents are affected, a figure that has been steadily increasing since 2004.
Access to health care has been severely restricted by the economic crisis and its short and medium-term outlook. The social consequences have led to a deterioration in the quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality of the most vulnerable populations. According to the UCA’s Social Debt Observatory, there has been an increase in mental and behavioural health emergencies among children and adolescents in 2024.
The economic situation and the significant increase in the cost of transportation have restricted people’s ability to travel to health centres, a situation further worsened by the suspension and/or cancellation of several state programmes at the primary care level. As a result, accessibility for individuals and communities to both preventive and immediate healthcare, including follow-up and routine check-ups for signs and symptoms, has diminished.
A report by the Centre of Pharmaceutical Professionals (CEPROFAR) highlights a 146 per cent increase in the price of medicines during the first four months of the year. This price surge has led to a 20 per cent drop in the purchase of medications for chronic diseases such as arterial hypertension, diabetes, and metabolic diseases) in April 2024, which directly affects adherence to treatments and has medium to long-term consequences on public health.
Furthermore, these limitations in access to health care extend to vaccination services, particularly immunisations mandated and provided free of charge under the National Vaccination Calendar, which further hinders effective coverage. According to the UCA, vaccination rates in infants are less than 80 per cent, 15 percentage points below the optimum level needed to control epidemics.
The negative impact on national vaccination coverage, especially among school-age children and adolescents, increases the risk of re-emergence or reintroduction of vaccine-preventable diseases (VDPD) that had previously been controlled or eliminated in the country.