02-06-2011 MRE: “BRASIL SEM MISÉRIA” NATIONAL POVERTY ALLEVIATION PLAN
Brazil launches National Poverty Alleviation Plan
Comprehensive social program aims to lift 16.2 million citizens out of extreme poverty
BRASÍLIA (02 June 2011) – Brazil´s President Dilma Rousseff today launched a
comprehensive national poverty alleviation plan named “Brasil Sem Miséria” to lift
16.2 million Brazilians out of extreme poverty through cash transfer initiatives, increased access to education, health, welfare, sanitation and electricity, and
productive inclusion. This flagship programof the federal government will create new
programs and expand existing initiatives in partnership with states, municipalities,
public and private companies and civil society organizations to extend the opportunities generated by Brazil´s strong economic growth to its neediest citizens.
“What was a matter of moral ethics and human rights became a key pillar to bring
Brazil’s growth to another level. Social inclusion makes our growth sustainable,” said President Dilma Rousseff during a launchevent today in Brasilia.
According to the President, the fight against poverty is an essential step in the
development of Brazil, but is not the only one. “Along with our fight against poverty,
we are implementing other actions rooted in economic policy based on fiscal control and the expansion of opportunities,” added President Rousseff.
The goal of “Brasil Sem Miséria” is to raise the national average income and overall
quality of life for the Brazilian population by focusing on the demographic that lives
below the extreme poverty line. The plan will identify these families and support them
in an integrated and personalized way through an array of social programs, according to their individual needs. To achieve its goal, the government will utilize the
extreme poverty maps produced by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) based on data collected through the 2010 census.
“Through the poverty alleviation plan, Brazilwill reach our most vulnerable citizens,
wherever they are. From now on, it isn´t the poorest people who have to chase the
State, but the opposite,” said Minister of Social Development and the Fight Against Hunger Tereza Campello.
“Brasil Sem Miséria” will prioritize the expansion of a broad range of public services
to the extremely poor, including documentation, electricity,literacy, medical, dental and ophthalmic treatment, daycare and sanitation. Citizens who are not already
beneficiaries of Brazil’s existing cash transfer programmes, such as “Bolsa Familia”, will be registered for these programs. In addition, the program will emphasize
“productive inclusion” at both the national and regional levels, increasing the skills
and capabilities of citizens to play a functional role in the national economy. In
rural areas, for example, “Brasil Sem Miséria” will encourage increased production through technical assistance, seed distribution and commercial support. In urban
areas, the program will focus on job training and the identification of employment opportunities and demands.
More than 7,000 Centers for Social Assistance spread throughout every municipality
will be the bridge between the families and the array of social programs included in
the poverty alleviation plan. Other social assistance centers are to be built in new locations.
Search activities will identify citizens in need
An active search strategy will be a critical first component of the national plan.
Professional teams will use national demographic data and other methods of outreach to
systematically locate Brazil´s poorest families in order to register them in social
programs and provide support. These teams will also identify existing services and
assess the need to create new social initiatives for unique populations. This initial
stage will include joint community efforts,campaigns, lectures, social and educational
activities, home visits and database cross-referencing to support search activities,
as well as training forsocialworkers to address the needs of families living under the extreme poverty line.
Overcoming the poverty line
The poverty alleviation plan is aimed at Brazilians livingin households with a monthly
income is R$ 70 (US$ 45) or less per person, fulfilling a commitment made by President
Rousseff at the start of her administration in January 2011. National data indicates
that 59 percent of the target citizens live in Brazil’s Northeast region, 47 percent live in rural areas, and 40 percent are 14 years of age or younger.
“It was only possible to reduce inequality and poverty in Brazilin recent years, when
the government introduced actions that combine economic growth with social inclusion,
such as increasing employment, enhancing the minimum wage, expanding social programs
and increasing access to credit. The results obtained so far – 28 million Brazilians
pulled out of poverty and 36 million joining the middle class – confirm that this
strategy is effective. With the poverty alleviation plan, we will cross the map of
extreme poverty with the map of economic opportunity and allow millions of Brazilians to overcome the poverty line,” said Minister Tereza Campello.
Productive inclusion program will offer job training for 1.7 million urban citizens
Urban productive inclusion initiatives will encourage entrepreneurship and fair trade, offering two million citizens professional training courses and employment opportunities to meet demands in the private and public sectors.
To increase job qualifications, the program will aim to serve 1.7 million citizens within the age of the labor force (18 to 65 years) in coordination with existing
government programs and services, including: the Public System of Labor, Employment
and Income; the National Access to TechnicalSchool (Pronatec) program; the National
Youth Inclusion Program (Projovem); the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC); the “My
House, My Life” housing program; as well as the Network of Food and Nutrition Centers.
Other productive inclusion initiatives include programs to provide official
documentation, and extend access to health services, microcredit and vocational guidance.
Garbage pickers to receive tailored support,increasingrecyclable materials collection in Brazil“Brasil Sem Miséria” will also provide support for the organization of
collectors of reusable and recyclable materials, commonly known as “pickers”. For this group, the aim is to improve working conditions and increase opportunities for
socioeconomic inclusion, with emphasis on those citizens living in the capitals and
metropolitan areas, covering 260 municipalities. The poverty alleviation plan will also work to better integrate pickers of recyclable materials into
municipality-ledrecyclables collection programs. The plan will provide training and
strengthen participation of 60,000 garbage pickers in recyclables collection programs by 2014, offer infrastructure support for 280,000 pickers and strengthen 100 recyclable materials trade networks.
A four-fold increase in Food Acquisition Program assistance to family farmers
To address the needs of rural communities, the national poverty alleviation plan aims to increase by four the number of small farmers assisted by the Food Acquisition
Program (FAP). Currently, 66,000 households benefit from the program, which aims to
reach 255,000 families by 2014. With this increase, the proportion of extremely poor farmers within all families assisted by the FAP will rise from 41 percent to 57 percent. Currently, 156,000 farmers sell their output through this program.
To support these farmers, the federal government has guaranteed a team of 11
technicians for every thousand families. The plan also includes subsidies of R$ 2,400
every six months for families to support the production and marketing of surplus food.
This allowance will be granted for a maximum period of two years. Payment will be ensured through the Bolsa Familia card – a tool used by the Ministry of Social Development for distribute payments to families assisted by the national income transfer program, BolsaFamilia.
In addition, 253,000 households will receive seeds and other farming materials such as
fertilizers. Increasing the purchase of family farming products by publicand pivate
institutions such as hospitals, schools, universities, day care centers and prisons, is also a goal of the plan.
Access to water and electric power to be increased in rural and urban areas
Access to water for consumption and production will also be increased by “Brasil Sem
Miséria”. Under the new plan, the construction of new cisterns for farming and animal
husbandry will reach 600,000 rural households by 2013. Small properties will also be granted irrigation tools, as well as assistance for the recovery of wells.
By 2013, rainwater cisterns will be built to ensure access to water for the
consumption of 750,000 families. Since 2003, the government has allocated funds for the construction of 340,000 cisterns in the semiarid region. The deployment of complementary and collective supply systems to 272,000 households is another initiative to increase access to water. These various programs aim to reach both
dispersed rural populations as well as those living in more densely populated areas.
In addition, the plan aims to extent electricity to an additional 257,000 households
in Brazilby 2014. This figure is the result of IBGE data of the population living in
extreme poverty cross-referenced with information from the energy supply companies.
Green Grant: Quarterly grants of R$ 300 for environmental preservation
The federal government will create an income transfer program targeted specifically
for families in extreme poverty that promote environmental conservation in areas where
they live and work. The “Bolsa Verde”, or Green Grant, in the amount of R$ 300 will be
paid every quarter to families that preserve national forests, extractive reserves and
sustainable development areas. Grants will be transferred through the Bolsa Familia card.
Another 800,000 families and 1.3 million children will be added to Bolsa Familia program
Another key initiative of the national poverty alleviation plan will be to add 800,000 families who meet the requirements but haven’t yet been registered to Brazil’s
successful cash transfer program, Bolsa Familia. Proactive efforts will be made by the government to locate these potential beneficiaries, in order to complete their registration and achieve this goal by December 2013.
In addition, the government will increase the number of children and adolescents under age 15 that each family can file for benefits under the Bolsa Familia program. Currently, each family receives an additional R$ 32 per child each month, for a
maximum of three children. This limit is now increased to a maximum of 5 children per family, adding 1.3 million children and adolescents to the 15.7 million already benefiting from Bolsa Familia today. Among the extremely poor, 40 percent of the
children receiving assistance are under the age of 14. In April 2011, the government readjusted the amount of the benefit paid to children at this age by 45 percent.
In addition to expanding the reach of this national program, the federal government is currently negotiating with states and municipalities to adopt further and complementary cash transfer initiatives.
“Brasil Sem Miséria” will increase the provision of high quality public services
The expansion and increase in quality of public services offered to people in extreme
poverty is the basic mandate of the national poverty alleviation plan. In order to
maximize the impact of the program, “Brasil Sem Miséria” will increase and relocate programswith awareness, mobilization and training.
Key areas of focus will include:
Documentation and civil registration
Access to electricity
The fight against child labor
Community kitchens and food banks
Sanitation
Support for the homeless population
Nursery school and kindergarten
Household Health assistance program (Saúde da Família)
Maternal Health Assistance Network
Medication for hypertension and diabetes
Dental care
Ophthalmologicalassistance
The fight against crack cocaine and other drugs
Social assistance, through the CRAS Centres, as well as specialized centers (CREAS)
KEY FIGURES
Pull 16.2 million people out of extreme poverty
Target families whose household monthly income is up to R$ 70 per capita (US $45)
59% of the target audience is located in the Northeast, 47% live in rural areas; and 40% are under the age of 14
Training of 1.7 million people aged 18-65
Train and strengthen participation of 60,000 garbage pickers in recyclables collection programs by 2014
Provide infrastructure to 280,000 garbage pickers and strengthen 100 recyclable materials trade networks
Increase by four times the number of farmers in extreme poverty assisted by the Food Acquisition
Program (PAA), raising the number of assisted farmers to 255,000
Provide teams of 11 technicians for every thousand families of small farmers
Provide subsidies for family farmers of up to R$ 2,400 every six months per
family for two years to support the production and marketing of food surplus
253,000 family farming households will receive seeds and farming inputs
600,000 households to have rainwater cisterns for production
257,000 households to have access to electric power
Building rainwater cisterns for 750,000 families by the end of 2013
Implementation of complementary and collective water supply systems to 272 000 families
“Green Grant”: R$ 300 quarterly grants for families ensuring environmental preservation in their area of residence and work
BolsaFamilia income transfer program will reach additional 800,000 people
More than 1.3 million children and adolescents to be included in the Bolsa Familia cash transfer program
Filed under: Development
