Brazil government’s Family Grant (Bolsa FamÀlia) program, part of Zero Hunger, added another 153 thousand families to its roster of beneficiaries. As a result, the program now reaches more than 6.7 million Brazilian homes.
The municipalities of Cantagalo, in Rio de Janeiro, Barreiras, in Piauí, Parecis, in Rondônia, and Araçariguama, in São Paulo, were just included in the program.
According to the Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation (MDS), the objective is to expand coverage in the municipalities that had the small number of families enrolled, as well as including more indigenous families – 645 in April.
The income supplement program is currently present in 60% of the homes of poor Brazilians. The benefit varies from 50 to 95 reais (US$ 19.8 – US$ 37.7) depending on the degree of poverty and size of the family.
The director of Management of Income Transfer Programs in the MDS, Antônio Claret, said that the Ministry intends to end this year with a total of 8.7 million families covered by the program.
“By the end of 2006, 11.2 million families will be included, thus completing the entire population estimated to be eligible for the program with per capita incomes of less than US$ 39.7 (R$ 100), considered to be below the poverty line,” he informed.
ABr