A/HRC/13/32 72. The Food and Cash Transfer project of Concern Worldwide distributes packages to recipients, half in cash and half in food, the food package being provided in the event that supply shortages in local markets have made food inaccessible to cash transfer recipients. To prevent theft and corruption, Concern’s 2006-2007 Dowa Emergency Cash Transfers project provides fingerprint-activated “smart cards” to beneficiary households. Using a specially designed four-wheel drive vehicle as a mobile bank, the five-month project had 88 paydays during which $504,000 was disbursed.67 F. Good practices relating to the urban poor 73. Belo Horizonte is the fourth largest city in Brazil, estimates from the early 1990s concluded that 38 per cent of families68 and 44 percent69 of children live under the poverty line. The city government created the Municipal Secretariat of Supplies to tailor an integrated policy addressing malnutrition and hunger. Programmes cover (a) policies that assist poor families and individuals at risk by supplementing their food intake; (b) partnering with private food suppliers to bring food to areas previously neglected by commercial establishments; and (c) increase food production and supply through technical and financial incentives given to small-scale producers to link rural producers and urban consumers.70 A 20-member council with representatives from the government sector, labour unions, food producers/consumers, and non-governmental organizations advised the Secretariat on project directions. 74. Much of the Secretariat’s success is also due to the decentralization of social programmes that were previously managed at a federal level (school meals were provided in this manner, for example). Decentralization allows for savings (for example, transportation costs) and opens up space for production by local suppliers. Finally, ensuring local participation and commitment conveys a sense of ownership to the communities of Belo Horizonte. V. Conclusion 75. Existing inequalities between the world’s regions and the vulnerability of the poorest members of developing countries are deepening as a result of three concomitant crises: the food crisis, the economic crisis and the environmental crisis. For the first time in history, more than 1 billion people are undernourished worldwide. The people most vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition include poor rural families, the urban poor, women, children, refugees, indigenous people and other minorities. Most of these people are hungry because they suffer from many forms of discrimination. 76. In the present study, a number of good practices were identified, as were antidiscriminatory policies and strategies in the context of the right to food. It is urgent to 67 68 69 70 In 2006-2007, the programme disbursed cash once a month for five months to a beneficiary population of over 10,000; See “When Small Loans Make a Big Difference”, 2008 (www.forbes.com/2008/06/03/kiva-microfinance-uganda-ent-fin-cx_0603whartonkiva.html). J. R. B. Lopes and S. M. S. Telles, “Caracterização das populações pobres no Brasil e de seu acesso à programas sociais”, in Galeazzi, M.A.M.,ed., Segurança Alimentar e Cidadania, São Paulo, Mercado das Letras, 1996. CMCA, Diagnóstico: Criança e Adolescente em Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, PHB, 1994. See also C. Rocha, “An integrated program for urban food security: The Case of Belo Hortizonte, Brazil”, 2000. 21