UN fears setbacks in Brazil's fight against poverty
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is on the alert for possible setbacks in Brazil's actions against poverty in the current crisis facing the economy.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is on the alert for possible setbacks in Brazil's actions against poverty in the current crisis facing the economy, said Maristela Baioni, a representative from the program.
“We've had a reduction in poverty over the last years, but today's crisis might send the population back to former poverty levels,” Baioni said today. She was taking part in the seminar Dialogs on Prosperity: Partnerships for Sustainable Development, promoted by BM&F Bovespa, in São Paulo city.
According to Radar IDHM, a UNDP study on the Human Development Index of municipalities released last month, the proportion of people with a household income below R$255 ($75.67) per capita between 2011 and 2014 dropped 9.3% per annum. From 2000 to 2010, the decline reached 3.9%.
UNDP Director Didier Trebucq argues that Brazil should step up its efforts for the promotion of human development, as Latin-Americans running the risk of plunging back to poverty total 224 million—35% of Latin America's population. “We need measures that makes it possible to bolster productive inclusion,” he said.
Attracting new strategies and business models can boost economic development, he maintains. For this reason, the program signed a technical cooperation deal with 2 thousand micro and small businesses as a way to spur both the sector and the economy in the country.
Vanialucia Lins, coordinator at the Secretariat for the Partnerships and Investment Program of the Presidency, said that the government wants to expand concessions and partnerships between the government and the private enterprise, training public officials and educating the population.
“These are major challenges, as ideological obstacles abound. Luckily, society has been discussing expenditures, which includes the pension reform. That's important, because spending cannot go unrestrained.”
The reduction in poverty and other issues like social inequality, corruption, increasing violence, environmental degradation, and the deficit in infrastructure are part of the 2013 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These objectives have been adopted by 193 UN member countries, including Brazil, as of Rio+20, in 2012.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: UN fears setbacks in Brazil's fight against poverty
