| 21 | Lunaé P
arracho/Oxfam
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22,1
OBJETIVO DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DO MILÊNIO PARA 2015 25
PORCENTAGEM DA POPULAÇÃO ABAIXO DA LINHA DE EXTREMA POBREZA 13
11 9 7 5
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 22,9
As already mentioned, Brazilian society is characterized by high social inequality and a significant number of poor people living in very precarious conditions, millions of whom are below the extreme poverty line and without adequate means to purchase food. Brazil has always been an example of the paradox represented by the coexistence of hunger and malnutrition on a massive scale, alongside a thriving food producing and exporting industry.
Many social indicators have improved over the past decades, and more intensively and consistently since 2000. Between 2004 and 2009, the share of Brazilians living in families with incomes equal to or greater than one minimum wage per capita rose from 29% to 42%, from 51.3 to 77.9 million people (BRAZIL/IPEA, 2011). The population in income range corresponding to the extremely poor, poor and vulnerable has declined in absolute numbers. The stratum with the greatest relative reduction (44%) was that of the extremely poor, which fell from 15.1%
to 8.4% between 2004 and 2009. There was a real growth in average per capita income of 22% over the same period, a phenomenon that occurred in all Brazilian regions but was stronger in the Northeast, the poorest region in the country. In the case of Brazil, the 1st Millennium Development Goal (UN) of reducing extreme poverty by half the 1990 rates by 2015 was achieved in 2006 (from 22.1% in 1990 to 10.8% in 2006) and therefore nearly a decade in advance. However, it must be pointed out that about 8.4% of the population still lived in extreme poverty in 2009 (Chart 1) (BRAZIL, SAE, 2011).
Chart 1: Temporal evolution of extreme poverty: Brazil, 1990-2009
5. In June 2012, the minimum wage in Brazil was R$ 622.00, equivalent to U$ 306.92. Quotation from Central Bank of Brazil:
2,0266 Real-Brazill = 1 US Dollar. accessed on: on 06.05.2012.
Source: Estimates based on the National Household Survey (PNAD) 1990-2009 available at: BRASIL. Presidência da República. Secretaria de Assuntos Estratégicos (SAE).
Barros, R, Mendonça, R e Tsukada, R. Portas de saída, inclusão produtiva e erradicação da extrema pobreza, no Brasil. Brasília, 2011.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL FOR 2015 PERCENTGAGE OF THE POPULATION BELOW THE EXTREME POVERTY LINE
| 23 | The Bolsa Família Program (PBF)
The strong growth in the incomes of the poorest stems mostly from the improvement and appropriate targeting of cash transfer programs in Brazil, in particular the Bolsa Família (Family Grant - PBF) Program. The PBF is a direct cash transfer program conditional on some requirements aimed at families living in a situation of extreme poverty, with a monthly per capita income of up to R$70 (US$34.65) and in a situation of poverty with a monthly per capita income from R$70.01 (US$34.66) to R$140 (US$54.48). The main legal frameworks of the program are: Law 10836 of January 9, 2004 and Decree No. 5209 of September 17, 2004.
The PBF was created in the context of the Zero Hunger Strategy, which aimed to ensure the human right to adequate food by promoting food and nutrition security and contributing to the eradication of extreme poverty and the achievement of citizenship by the portion of the population most vulnerable to hunger. Currently the PBF Plan is part of the Brazil without Extreme Poverty Program (Brasil Sem Miséria), which has its focus on the 16 million Brazilians with a monthly per capita household income below R$70.
The Program benefits more than 13 million families nationwide, and the monthly benefit of R$70 is transferred to extremely poor families.
The Program is based on the combination of three essential dimensions for eradicating hunger and poverty: a) promoting the immediate relief of poverty through the direct transfer of cash to the families; 2) strengthening the exercise of basic social rights in the areas of Health and Education through the fulfillment of certain conditions (families must ensure school attendance and health controls in the public health network, while the State must ensure the provision of public policies), thus helping families to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty; and 3) coordinating complementary programs aimed at the development of families, so that Bolsa Família beneficiaries can overcome the situation of vulnerability and poverty.
Management of the Bolsa Família Program is decentralized and shared by the Union, States, Federal District and municipalities.
Available at: http://www.mds.gov.br/bolsafamilia. Accessed on 7.25.2012
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Progress can also be seen in the evolution of some social indicators:
improvements in education through the increase in the average years of schooling, which rose from 5.2 years in 1992 to 7.4 years in 2008; reduction in the infant mortality rate, which fell from 47.1 to 19.0 deaths per thousand live births (a reduction of about 60% in 18 years) between 1990 and 2008; a significant decrease in malnutrition in children under 5 years, although important regional, racial and ethnic inequalities persist, as shown in Figure 2. Based on these data, it is clear that the complete eradication of hunger and improvements in the living conditions of certain segments of the population remain a goal to be gradually pursued in Brazil (CONSEA, 2010).
“Food security depends on the commitment and effort of governments and all peoples and nations.”
Dourado Tapeba, indian, civil society counselor at National CONSEA
A challenge still far from being met is related to indigenous peoples, because they are marginalized and have real difficulties accessing key public policies (health, education, social security, access to land, etc.). The First National Survey of the Health and Nutrition Status of Indigenous Peoples6 conducted by National Health Foundation (FUNASA) (2008-09) aimed to assess the health and nutrition conditions of the indigenous population. The study showed that 26% of the children surveyed were affected by stunting. In the northern region of the country, where most of these peoples live, 41% of the children had the same problem, a condition that is unacceptable considering the current social and economic situation in Brazil. Infant mortality rate was 44.4 deaths per thousand live births, about 2.3 higher than the national average for the same year. (BRAZIL, MS, 2009)
6. Survey conducted by the National Health Foundation (FUNASA), Ministry of Health, which included a sample of 6,707 indigenous women and 6,285 indigenous children living in 113 villages. The survey was conducted with the support of the ABRASCO Consortium (Brazilian Association of Graduate Health Studies) and the Institute of Ibero-American Studies, Goteborg University, Sweden.
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Chart 2: Differences in the prevalence of low height-for-age (%) among children under 5 years old, according to the situation for the general population of Brazil and the North Region, indigenous Peoples and Quilombola Communities.
Another aspect of inequality to be considered is gender: women are the most affected by extreme poverty, illiteracy, health system failures, conflicts, and sexual violence. In general, women receive lower pay for the same work as men, participate less in key decision-making areas, are more present in the informal economy, and work double shifts (domestic work). The work of women family farmers and peasants, who are known to contribute significantly to the production of food for the population as a whole, is also invisible and these women are strongly discriminated against when trying to participate and having a voice in their families and communities. It is also known that among the poor, rural women and children are often the groups most affected by malnutrition due not only to unequal food distribution within the family but also to overwork (agricultural and domestic work) (SILIPRANDI, 2004).
“In a country where the black population is close to 48% and inequalities revolve mainly around this population, sometimes due to the slave regime “abolished”
at least 135 years ago and others to the dictatorship overthrown less than 40 years ago, it is crucial that those concerned realize the consequences of that regime and join efforts around public policies so as to overcome the challenge of eradicating hunger and social inequalities. Like CONSEA, a valuable democratic space for coordination between civil society and government in the promotion of the populations that are at this stage of high vulnerability.”
Edgard Ap. Moura, researcher and member of the Black Social Movement, civil society counselor at the National CONSEA.
Sources: Survey conducted by the National Health Foundation (FUNASA), Ministry of Health, which included a sample of 6,707 indigenous women and 6,285 indigenous children living in 113 villages. The survey was conducted with the support of the ABRASCO Consortium (Brazilian Association of Graduate Health Studies) and the Institute of Ibero-American Studies, Goteborg University, Sweden.
Brazil 2006 North 2006 Indigenous 2008/2009 Quilombolas 2006 Bolsa Família 2009
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6,7 14,8
26
15 15,9
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