The non-governmental organization Action Aid has placed Brazil top of a ranking of developing countries according to their efforts to combat hunger.

In its recent report 'Who's really fighting hunger?', Action Aid presents Brazil as an example of what can be achieved when the state 'has both resources and political will to tackle hunger'.

The report praises the Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) programme, introduced under President Lula in 2003, which aims to guarantee that every Brazilian has access to sufficient food. Encompassing a broad range of initiatives including cash transfers, food banks, community kitchens and free school meals, Fome Zero has made a major contribution to the drastic fall in child malnutrition in Brazil in recent years. Out of the 29 developing countries covered in the report, Brazil has the smallest percentage of underweight children under the age of five – slightly less than 5%.

Action Aid notes that the Bolsa Família income-transfer programme is the largest of its kind in the world, and that overall income inequality in Brazil has fallen by almost 5% since its introduction.

The report also addresses areas in which Brazil can improve, suggesting that 'challenges remain in combating hunger amongst landless labourers and smallholder farmers, who would benefit from larger landholdings and increased support'.

Source: Action Aid and Embassy of Brazil in London