“Brazil is beating hunger and leaving the Hunger Map,” celebrates Wellington Dias

Brazil’s Minister of Social Development and Assistance, Family and Hunger Eradication (MDS) Wellington Dias took part in the radio program “Bom Dia, Ministro” (“Good Morning, Minister”) on Thursday, January 16, and said he is very optimistic about 2025. Dias believes in an even greater drop in hunger in Brazil and an increasingly significant improvement in the living conditions of Brazilian citizens. “Brazil is beating hunger and, in three years, leaving the Hunger Map. 2025 will be the year in which, for the second time under Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil leaves the Hunger Map,” he said.

According to the Minister, around 33 million Brazilian citizens have left the Hunger Map statistics over the last two years. Of this amount, around 90% of those who were facing severe hunger — “the kind that kills” — have left this condition behind, leading to a drop in the level of poverty to less than 4.4%, the lowest ever recorded in the history of Brazil. Conversely, the middle class broke a record and currently represents 52% of the Brazilian population.

The head of the ministry stated that these positive numbers can be explained in part by the success of the Bolsa Família program, which he considers “one of the best income transfer programs in the world”. “The people who need this program usually live in places where the economy is very fragile, and where money circulates in markets, in butchers, everywhere. Furthermore, we are also pleased to know that families with malnourished children at the beginning of 2023 will now be able to offer a regular, healthy diet and overcome malnutrition,” said Dias, observing that the money received by beneficiaries is also used for other consumer items, boosting the local economy.

“We found a very large number of children who were on the poverty line, facing extreme poverty — and, when the new Bolsa Família program came in, simultaneously providing a larger transfer of BRL 150 to families with children up to six years old, the effect is that we have lifted 92% of these families out of extreme poverty.”

The Minister also mentioned other Federal Government programs that have contributed to improving the quality of life of Brazilian citizens, such as the Full-Time School Program (Escola em Tempo Integral), the Food Acquisition Program (Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos/PAA) and the Pé-de-Meia Program, which all result in a great virtuous cycle. “One of the Bolsa Família’s requirements is that children be enrolled in school, where they also have access to school meals and quality food. This is an incentive to purchase from family farms — in other words, from those small producers who produce milk, fruit, and a range of products that are very fresh when they arrive at schools,” said Dias.

Furthermore, added the Minister, programs such as the Full-Time School Program — which provides breakfast, lunch, and snacks for children — also improve students’ academic performance. “When people are hungry they cannot concentrate. Their brains are constantly asking for food. When people are well-fed, their cognitive development and learning capacity are greater, and so food is also good for education,” said Dias. “Moreover, full-time education means that families can work and increase their income,” he added.

During the interview, Wellington Dias also spoke about the problems caused by misinformation, the fight against fraud, and the ministry’s efforts to support and harbor victims of climate tragedies.

Follow other highlights of the interview with the Minister:

BOLSA FAMÍLIA CARD AND BETS – Studies by the National Confederation of Commerce (Confederação Nacional do Comércio) reveal that 52% of the Brazilian population have gambled at some point — and we are talking about games that, for many people, carry a risk of addiction, of creating dependency. The survey shows, however, that the number of people who are registered in the Bolsa Família’s Unified Registry [Cadastro Único] is much lower — and only 3.4% used the Bolsa Família card.

The decision by the Supreme Court and the Federal Court of Accounts [Tribunal de Contas da União/TCU] allowed us to adopt measures to prevent gambling with cards — and not only the Bolsa Família card, but cards in general. Furthermore, we are also facing a situation in which someone uses the CPF [Individual Taxpayer Registry] of individuals in vulnerable situations, people on Bolsa Família, for example, who are clearly being used for money laundering. We have already contacted the Federal Police [Polícia Federal]; it has begun an investigation and we will have information very soon, without a doubt.

We also have support from the Unified Social Assistance System [Sistema Único da Assistência Social] to make sure that adults who are beneficiaries do not spend all their money on gambling, leading to deprivation and lack of food — and leaving the rest of the family with no assistance whatsoever.

SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF CLIMATE TRAGEDIES – President Lula's guidance is to give full attention and offer humanitarian aid to the homeless. We support the affected municipalities with all our attention and, in a comprehensive manner, with all ministries, alongside state and municipal governments, regardless of any political disputes.

The first step is to declare an emergency or a state of calamity. This decree is sent to the State’s Civil Defense Secretariat and also to the National Civil Defense Secretariat, as well as to the Ministry of Integration [Ministério da Integração]. Through this decree, we release the advance payment of Bolsa Família. We will also ensure resources for shelter in the various regions of the affected states. This is money to buy food, hygiene products, whatever is needed. We will also ensure rural development for people who have lost their production, and guarantee health care.

There is a need for vaccination since diseases related to floods are on the rise. There are also health kits to support the municipalities — and, of course, registration and support for renovation or new housing for those who have lost their homes.

FIGHTING FRAUD AND FAKE NEWS – We are fighting people holding fake CPFs, — often belonging to deceased individuals. Moreover, our MDS control system, with Dataprev, which also works with the INSS [Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social, or National Social Security Institute] is very powerful. Today, we centralize information to combat fraud, alongside the Federal Revenue Service [Receita Federal] and the intelligence of the Federal Police itself. We are talking about a crime. Note that, in the Bolsa Família program, we found 3.7 million benefits which were fraudulent, irregular. In other words, the Federal Court of Accounts calculated BRL 34 billion that was paid unduly.

In this way, we can improve the relationship with users. We are working so that people who are registered use biometrics, facial, and fingerprint reading, in addition to proof of life, which the law requires and can be carried out from home, on a cell phone. The goal is to guarantee the right for those who have the right, but also the law for those who commit crimes, for those who commit fraud.

Just to remind you: if you have received any information about changes to Bolsa Família, the Continuous Benefit Payment [Benefício de Prestação Continuada /BPC], especially information related to benefit cuts, contact the Social Assistance Reference Center [Centro de Referência em Assistência Social] or the website of the Ministry of Social Development and Assistance. You can call 121 for information about Bolsa Família and 135 for BPC. Do not believe every video you receive. Try checking to make sure that it is real.