A mission representing several Brazilian government ministries arrived in Haiti on July 19 for a two-week visit aimed at developing a plan for combatting hunger in the country. A pilot project will be modeled on Brazil's Program of Acquisition of Food from Family Agriculture (PAA). "The objective is to encourage family agriculture, generating income and producing food," said Cesar Medeiros, director of Brazil's National Food and Nutritional Security Secretariat. "The project will be administered by Haiti; Brazil will only provide advice." The aid is part of an agreement Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva signed with President Rene Preval during a visit to Haiti on May 28. (Adital, Brazil, July 31)

Brazil heads the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), a four-year-old military and policing operation opposed by many Haitian and Brazilian activists.

From Weekly News Update on the Americas, Aug. 3

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