Lula celebrates Brazil’s exit from the Hunger Map in call with FAO Director-General

On the morning of Monday, July 28, Brazil received significant news: for the second time, the country has exited the Hunger Map. Following the announcement by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Organização das Nações Unidas para a Alimentação e a Agricultura /FAO), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu.

For us to be able to end hunger and poverty, it is necessary to include poor people in the national budget, as well as in the budgets of states and municipalities"

LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA
President of the Republic

During the conversation, Lula celebrated Brazil’s achievement. “For us to be able to end hunger and poverty, it is necessary to include poor people in the national budget, as well as in the budgets of states and municipalities.” President Lula said. “The day leaders do this, we will solve this chronic problem of humanity.”

President Lula declared himself the “happiest man in the world,” but also embraced the role of “soldier of Brazil, a soldier of the FAO, a global soldier” in the fight to end hunger and poverty, with or without a presidential mandate. For the FAO Director-General, Lula’s role is clear: “You may be a soldier, but you are truly a commander-in-chief.”

The UN official affirmed that in 2026, the FAO will visit Brazil to learn about its experiences in fighting hunger during the CELAC Forum, which brings together countries from Latin America and the Caribbean. “You mobilize your colleagues and your people to fight hunger,” he said.

In addition to reaffirming his commitment to the fight against inequality in all its forms, Lula expressed his indignation over the high global military spending (USD 2.7 trillion) and the comparatively low investment in food and environmental preservation.

The Federal Government’s next goal is clear: to increase efforts so that no one goes hungry. "It is a shame for the world’s leaders, since the world produces enough food, but people lack the money to access it," Lula said. "I took office in 2023, and in the speech celebrating my victory, I said that ‘if by the end of my term every Brazilian man and woman were having breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, I would have fulfilled my life’s mission."

BRAZIL WITHOUT HUNGER – Brazil’s exit from the Hunger Map is the result of political decisions by the Brazilian government that prioritized poverty reduction, stimulated job and income generation, supported family farming, strengthened school feeding programs, and ensured access to healthy food.

This marks second time that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government has removed the country from this condition: the first was in 2014, after 11 years of consistent policies. However, beginning in 2018, the dismantling of social programs caused Brazil to regress and return to the Hunger Map.

In two years of President Lula’s government, Brazil has achieved historic reductions in severe food insecurity and poverty. National hunger figures, obtained through the application of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (Escala Brasileira de Insegurança Alimentar/EBIA) in surveys by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística /IBGE), showed that by the end of 2023, the country had removed approximately 24 million people from severe food insecurity.

GLOBAL ALLIANCE AGAINST HUNGER AND POVERTY – Proposed by the Government of Brazil during its G20 presidency in 2024, the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty aims to unite the efforts of countries, international organizations, and financial institutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on eradicating hunger and poverty by 2030. Currently, the Alliance has 101 member countries, in addition to various foundations, institutions, and organizations.

The Alliance aims to strengthen international cooperation and attract resources and expertise for the implementation of public policies and social technologies effective in reducing hunger and poverty worldwide.