Brazil already has the indicators to be removed from the UN Hunger Map.

247 - Brazil is about to achieve another milestone in the fight against hunger. According to information from Gov AgencyThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is expected to unofficially announce, between July 27 and 29, during a summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that the country will once again be removed from the Hunger Map. The official announcement, scheduled for July 2026, may be brought forward given the significant results already achieved.

Last Thursday (24), President Lula demonstrated optimism during a ceremony in Minas Novas, in the Jequitinhonha Valley (MG). “We ended hunger in 2014. When I returned in 2023, there were 33 million people going hungry again. After the coup against Dilma, they didn't take care of that anymore. But you're going to have a surprise: this week, Brazil will leave the Hunger Map again,” declared the president.

Historic drop in hunger and poverty.

The Minister of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger, Wellington Dias, who will represent Brazil on the UN Committee on World Food Security, highlighted recent progress in an interview on the program. Good morning, Minister.According to him, Brazil has already reached the levels required by the FAO to leave the Hunger Map, thanks to the significant decrease in severe food insecurity.

“Even in 2023 and 2024, we would already be off the Hunger Map. In 2023, we reduced [the percentage of the population experiencing severe food insecurity] from 4,7% to 2,8%. And in 2024, I think we should have been 2,3%, 2,4% below. At 2,5% below, we would already be off the Hunger Map,” Dias explained.

The FAO adopts criteria based on the average of the last three years, which would push the official announcement to 2026. However, with the current figures, unofficial early recognition has become possible.

From crisis to reconstruction: three years of recovery.

Brazil had been removed from the Hunger Map for the first time in 2014, after 11 years of consistent social policies. However, between 2019 and 2022, there was a significant setback, with an increase in poverty and food insecurity, culminating in the country's return to the UN's extreme hunger indicator.

In 2023, the first year of Lula's new government, the scenario began to change. Data shows that 14,7 million Brazilians stopped experiencing hunger, reducing severe food insecurity from 17,2 million people in 2022 to 2,5 million. The percentage drop was from 8% to just 1,2% of the population. For Minister Wellington Dias, this is an unprecedented achievement: "Look, Brazil is already the country that escaped hunger in the shortest time, 11 years [in 2014]. Now we will achieve it in three years."

According to him, the reduction in extreme poverty and poverty is also historic. “Extreme poverty was at 9%. The World Bank has now released data showing it has fallen to 4%. Poverty was at 37% in 2021, and has now fallen to 23%, according to the World Bank, FGV, and several IBGE studies. We have had the greatest reduction in inequality in Brazilian history. All these indicators are records,” the minister stated.

Bolsa Família, childhood and productive inclusion

The new Bolsa Família program, revamped in 2023, has been one of the central pillars of this transformation. With a minimum value of R$ 600 per family, plus additional payments for children, pregnant women, and adolescents, the program has had a direct impact on food security, especially in early childhood.

A study by the Ministry of Social Development, in partnership with the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation, showed a 91,7% reduction in the number of young children living in poverty or extreme poverty.

Furthermore, job creation and the encouragement of entrepreneurship were key to increasing family income. According to the General Register of Employed and Unemployed Workers (Caged), of the 1,7 million formal jobs created in 2024, 98,8% were filled by people registered in the Unified Registry for Social Programs (CadÚnico), and 75,5% were beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família program.

The role of protection and guaranteed return.

The process of gradually removing families from the program due to increased income also reflects the success of the social policy combined with economic growth. Approximately one million families will stop receiving the benefit in July. The majority—536—made this transition under the Protection Rule, which allows for the partial maintenance of the benefit for up to two years.

Even after this period, families that return to a vulnerable situation are automatically reinstated in the program, thanks to the Guaranteed Return policy. Another 385 households exceeded the limit of half the minimum wage per person in July, also leaving the program.

A set of coordinated policies

The fight against hunger in Brazil is not limited to Bolsa Família. Initiatives such as the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) and the National System for Food and Nutritional Security (Sisan) strengthen a broad protection network that includes food security, strengthening family farming, access to income, and education and health policies.

By all indications, Brazilian social policy is showing concrete signs that it is possible to combat hunger quickly and efficiently. Brazil's potential exit from the Hunger Map in just three years reinforces this trajectory of reconstruction and points to a new cycle of inclusive development.