GLOBAL COOPERATION NEWSLETTERMay 2013
In this issueSocial protection in Brazil
OECD: Growing risk of inequality and poverty as the crisis hits the poor
hardestParliamentarians back democratic governance as a post-2015 development
goal
Useful resources and links

 Featured article: Social Protection in Brazil
By Heloisa Mesquita, Superintendent in Social Protection at the Secretariat for Social
Assistance and Human Rights, Government of Rio de Janeiro

Heloisa Mesquita got her Masters in Social Services from the Pontifical Catholic Universityof Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ) and Doctorate in Social Polícy from the Fluminense Federal
University (UFF). She is Vice-President of the Brazilian Center for Cooperation andExchange of Social Services (CBCISS)

In Brazil, poverty reduction activities form part of the Brazil Without Poverty program,which involves actions carried out by various ministries and other actors. Poverty is viewed
as a major social issue that goes beyond simply a lack of income and involves deprivationof basic capabilities; in this context a multidimensional approach is called for thatconsiders factors beyond income, including some specific factors. Thus, the policy
measures should take into consideration not only the transfer of income, but also theprofile of the family, the district in which the family lives, as well as health, education,
professional training and the generation of opportunities, among others. Based on that
understanding, the state of Rio de Janeiro has been implementing the Rio Without Poverty
plan, which includes the actions taken by the Better Incomes program. The plan envisions
a range of benefits for families with children. By 2012, 251,000 families were assisted in
51 municipalities, and in 2013 the figure will be 270,000 families in 91 municipalities.
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The Rio Without Poverty plan has three layers embracing short-, medium- and long-termgoals, and involves all three levels of government (federal, state and municipal). The planseeks, through intersectoral actions covering health, education and social assistance, toprovide benefits to families with children, ensuring that such families have access to theabove mentioned services and are able to meet the requirements defined in the programwith regard to clinical follow-up, immunization and school attendance. The plan at thesame time avoids putting blame on the families regarding the compliance procedures.
Apart from the income transfer envisioned by the above described social protection
program, social assistance assumes the form of family support. This work is designed andimplemented throughout Brazil by the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS). Social
protection under the SUAS umbrella consists of, on the one hand, the basic social
protection program, which aims at the prevention of risk situations, including thedevelopment of capacities and the strengthening of ties between individuals, their families
and their communities, and, on the other hand, the special social protection program,which focuses on providing social assistance to individuals and families at risk due to some
temporary or permanent threats to their health or livelihood.
SUAS works within the framework of the family and the community through activities
provided by service units set up in the districts where the beneficiaries live. Those units
include social workers and psychologists, who meet regularly with families and coordinate
their services with other services provided to the population as entitlements under theexisting public policy provisions. This work is carried out by the municipalities. The federal
government and the state authorities help with the training of the service teams, provide
part of the financing and monitor the actions taken. The municipalities are responsible forthe actual implementation of services provided to families.
At the federal government level, the Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Reduction(MDS) includes the National Secretariat for Social Assistance (SNAS), with responsibilities
for a range of social protection services and for the deployment and implementation of
the SUAS provisions. That part of the government is responsible for a range of policy
measures, such as services, programs, projects, benefits and income transfers, which give
specific form to the social security goals established in the National Social Assistance
Policy of 2004, revised in the Basic Operational Norm of 2012. They include: child care,income, family and community life, promotion of independent living, and support andassistance in the event of temporary or permanent threats to one’s health or livelihood.
In the state of Rio de Janeiro these actions are carried out by the Department of Social
Welfare and Human Rights (SEASDH), responsible for implementing SUAS as well as
programs aimed at the promotion, protection and advocacy of rights and the program forincome transfers. The work is done through the sub-secretariats of the Department, which
cover the entire scope of its activities and provide social protection in the state of Rio deJaneiro on two fronts: first, the direct transfer of resources to families, and second, thetransfer of funds to municipal governments so that they can provide guidance to families
with regard to the various dimensions in which people can strengthen the quality of theirlives and their access to their entitlements.
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The conditional cash transfer scheme in Brazil is part of the Bolsa Família program. In thestate of Rio de Janeiro that program is reinforced and further complemented by the Better
Incomes program. To overcome extreme poverty in the state of Rio de Janeiro theprogram includes among its objectives: bringing the income of extremely poor families
over the extreme poverty threshold, helping to provide the conditions needed for suchfamilies during their life-course with greater autonomy and dignity, encouraging school
attendance and successful secondary education completion by children of young families inextreme poverty, helping to increase their opportunities in terms of social and economicinclusion and expanding the social inclusion of low-income people, and strengthening theircapabilities and enabling them to take advantage of economic and social opportunities.
The basic premise of the plan is that each family has some potential that could beenhanced, and that the network supported by government and civil society should bedesigned to promote joint efforts aimed at reaching the vulnerable population groups,
helping them to overcome multiple deprivations.
Given the multidimensional nature of poverty, the government of the state of Rio deJaneiro has also chosen to address one of the key structural problems affecting efforts toovercome extreme poverty, namely, education. In establishing a program called Better
Incomes for Young People, it has sought to encourage young people under 18 years of age
who live with their families in extreme poverty to remain in the educational system andcomplete high school successfully. The financial incentive that is provided assumes theform of a payment deposited in a savings account, which can be withdrawn directly by theyoung person using a special bank card. Besides schooling, young people can get accessto financial education and vocational training courses that can expand their opportunities
for social and economic inclusion along their life-course. Such measures certainly help tostrengthen the self-esteem of young people and expand their ability to plan and enjoy afuture with decent opportunities in the labour market.
Another aspect of the plan covers strategies for the management of social and economic
opportunities, whose goal is to bridge the existing gaps, reduce disparities and improveaccess to such opportunities. For older persons in Brazil, income transfer is handled
through the Continuous Cash Benefit program (BPC). In the state of Rio de Janeiro,
160,866 older people currently receive a minimum monthly allowance. They also benefit
from extensive family support and community life improvement activities.
On the administrative side, this whole process of social protection design andimplementation is supported by the Information Management System, which relies onquestionnaires that must be answered systematically by municipal governments and aresubsequently analyzed by both the state government of Rio de Janeiro and the federal
government. The state authorities are deeply committed to poverty reduction efforts,
seeing them as an essential element in achieve the reduction of many existing
inequalities.

Some results

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There is no doubt that income transfer programs might be viewed with some suspicion;the opponents of such schemes believe, for example, that such schemes breed
dependency and even provide disincentives for job seeking. I think we should look at thebroader picture; what the families receive under such program is a relatively small
supplementary income, given the scale of deprivations that they need to overcome in theirlives. But this ongoing conditional cash transfer scheme has already proved its value andpositive impact. The results of these programs speak for themselves: a new study,
published in the May issue of the British journal The Lancet, reveals that the Bolsa Família
program made a decisive contribution to the decline in the mortality of children under 5years from 2004 to 2009, while child mortality in the sampled cities was reduced by asmuch as 17%.
Over the past eight years, 28 million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty and40 million people joined the middle class, which is a very significant outcome. Currently,
there are more than 13 million households benefiting from the program, but the challenge
remains, as there are still 16.2 million Brazilians living in extreme poverty. They will not
move out of that group without intervention and active support. Public policies should beused synergistically to address that situation, and the federal government must improve isefforts in locating and registering those people who are eligible, providing required family
support.
In the state of Rio de Janeiro 1.5 million people were lifted out of extreme poverty in thefirst half of 2012 thanks to support provided to families. Therefore, we can conclude that
there have been good results, but they certainly could be better. Further efforts arerequired to lift people out of poverty and all stakeholders must join forces striving toovercome existing barriers and reduce poverty and inequality. This is an agenda for Brazil,
but it is also a global agenda.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
views of the ICSW Management Committee

 OECD: Growing risk of inequality and poverty as the crisis hits the poor
hardestIncome inequality increased by more in the first three years of the crisis to the end of2010 than it had in the previous twelve years, before factoring in the effect of taxes andtransfers on income, according to a new OECD report and data.
The analysis says that the welfare state has cushioned the blow for many but warns thatfurther social spending cuts in OECD countries risk causing greater inequality and poverty
in the years ahead.
After taxes and transfers, the richest 10 per cent of the population in OECD countries
earned 9.5 times the income of the poorest 10 per cent in 2010, up from 9 times in 2007.
The gap is largest in Chile, Mexico, Turkey, the United States and Israel, and lowest in
Iceland, Slovenia, Norway and Denmark.

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“These worrying findings underline the need to protect the most vulnerable in society,especially as governments pursue the necessary task of bringing public spending undercontrol,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.
“Policies to boost jobs and growth must be designed to ensure fairness, efficiency andinclusiveness. Among these policies, reforming tax systems is essential to ensure thateveryone pays their fair share and also benefits and receives the support they need.”
Poorer households tended to lose more or gain less than richer households between 2007
and 2010. The top 10 per cent of the population did better than the poorest 10 per cent in
21 of the 33 countries where data are available.
Using pre-crisis income levels as a benchmark, the number of people living in poverty rose
during the crisis in most countries. Taxes and benefits helped mitigate the overall
increases, but the impact varied. Between 2007 and 2010, average relative income
poverty in OECD countries rose from 13 to 14% among children and from 12 to 14%
among youth, but fell from 15 to 12% among the elderly. Until 2010, in many countries,
pensioners were largely protected, while working households took the hit.
Child poverty has risen in 16 OECD countries since 2007, with increases exceeding 2
points in Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and Hungary. This confirms a previously
identified trend of young people and children replacing the elderly as the group most at
risk of income poverty across the OECD.
Inequality was one of the key issues discussed at this year’s OECD Forum, “Jobs, equalityand trust”, convened from 28-29 May in Paris. More details are available at
http://www.oecd.org/forum/
www.oecd.org/newsroom/growing-risk-of-inequality-and-poverty-as-crisis-hits-the-poorhardest-says-oecd.htm
 Parliamentarians back democratic governance as a post-2015 development
goal
The results from a survey carried out during the 128th Inter-Parliamentary Union
Assembly in Quito, Equator have revealed that 80 per cent of MPs back democratic
governance as a stand-alone objective for the United Nations Post-2015 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). Nearly all (96 per cent) of the 240 MPs surveyed out of 619
MPs present in Quito, believed that the key elements of democratic governance –participation, transparency and accountability – should be embedded into the other SDGs
to ensure their success. Men and women MPs from all regions and both developing anddeveloped countries participated in the survey. They were also virtually unanimous (99 percent) in their belief that democratic governance was necessary for sustainable
development. This is an issue that resonates outside the political sphere. Respondents to
the UN’s MY World survey, which allows all citizens of the world to have their say on what
the next set of development goals should be, have so far ranked the need for honest andresponsive governments as the third most important goal, just behind education andhealth.
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The IPU is advocating for democratic governance to be included as a stand-alone goal in
the new SDGs, which will replace the current Millennium Development Goals when they
expire in 2015. Its members adopted the Quito Communique on sustainable development
at the 128th Assembly, which not only argues for development aimed at ensuring global
well-being but also for strengthening the key institutions that can bring this about.
For more details please go to:
http://www.ipu.org/conf-e/128agnd.htm#doc-quest
 Useful resources and links
The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS), published in The Lancet last week,
provides health and policy experts with evidence to pinpoint areas where research for new
vaccine candidates is urgently needed to combat diarrheal diseases — the second leading
cause of death among children globally. It also reveals other important opportunities forintervention. GEMS, coordinated by the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center
for Vaccine Development, filled critical gaps in knowledge that had not been captured inprevious studies by using consistent methodologies across seven of the highest-burdencountries and enrolling more than 20,000 children over the course of three years. Thestudy tested for almost 40 pathogens and confirmed that just four are responsible for themajority of moderate-to-severe diarrhea cases: rotavirus, Cryptosporidium, Shigella andST-ETEC, a type of E.coli. Reducing the transmission of these pathogens by expanding
access to treated water supplies and improving sanitation is feasible and within reach.
For more details go to :http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10726814.htm
The "Perspectives on Global Development 2013- Industrial Policies in a Changing World"
published by OECD discusses the renewed interest in industrial policies by developing
economies as part of their development strategies to face the changing global economic
landscape. Since the mid-1990s, economic growth rates in large and populous middleincome countries have substantially outpaced those in OECD countries. This has reshaped
the global economy and favoured convergence in global income per capita.
For more details please go to: http://www.oecd.org/dev/pgd/pgd2013.htm
The content of this Global Newsletter may be freely reproduced or cited provided the source isacknowledged. Views do not necessarily represent policies of ICSW.
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