Ms. Sophia Martelly, the First Lady of the Republic, left the country, Wednesday, October 12, 2011, to Brazil to inquire about the program "Bolsa Famillia", put in place in Brazil since 2003 and that allowed the country to deal with the problems of food security for a large part of its population.

The working visit of three days is part of the program "Aba grangou", initiated by the Presidency to address the problems of under-nutrition of the disadvantaged populations in Haiti. Ms. Martelly will be accompanied, among others, by the expert from the World Food Programme, Raphy Favre.

The First Lady will meet with Ministers and Secretaries of State and other actors in the field, to identify and understand the mechanisms of management of this program.

Not less than 4.5 million Haitians, or 45.2% of households live in moderate food insecurity throughout the country. According to some studies, 800 000 of them are in critical situation, while 200,000 others are in a situation of famine of very high level.

The presidential couple, which was already committed in this domain long before the election of President Martelly, renews its commitment to provide in the short, medium and long term, practical solutions to the situation of food insecurity prevailing in the country to achieve a sufficient and balanced diet for all.

HL/ HaitiLibre