Nearly one in seven people living in the Halle-Vilvoorde district is living in poverty. The rate is higher than anywhere else in Flanders, where about 10% of the population is classed as poor. In the affluent Flemish Rand on the Brussels periphery the poverty rates are even higher than in Flanders. The Flemish Minister for Poverty Reduction, Ingrid Lieten (SP.A), is now deploying an additional € 4.5 million worth of funding to combat child poverty. It may come as a surprise at first sight to hear that various peripheral municipalities and three municipalities with language facilities should be marked down for resources under this heading. Or maybe not. In any event, this has put a dent in the image of the Rand as being an affluent area. (RK, mei 2014)