New Paraguay leaders promise more free milk
Paraguay's incoming leaders to expand milk handouts to fight child malnutrition and poverty
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) -- Paraguay exports enough soy, wheat and corn to feed 80 million people, more than 10 times its population, and its rivers provide abundant fresh water. But 14 percent of its children suffer chronic malnutrition, and many others lack clean drinking water.
Public Health Minister Antonio Arbo and Vice President-elect Juan Afara cited these numbers Wednesday in announcing that the incoming government will fight poverty as a top priority.
Arbo said a free milk program that now reaches 25,000 poor children will be extended to 70,000 infants.
Paraguay's census says 39 percent of the country's 6.2 million people live in poverty. The United Nations says it's the result of an economy in which a tiny elite owns nearly all the land and pays no income taxes.
