Eradicating extreme poverty
Brazil without Extreme Poverty Plan (Brasil sem Miséria)
Several targets were exceeded in the first year of the Brazil without Extreme Poverty Plan
INCOME GUARANTEE
Active Search: until March 2012, 687,000 extremely poor families had been included in the Unified Register (Cadastro Único) and are already receiving the Family Grant (Bolsa Família), surpassing the target of 640,000 beneficiary families set for 2012. Most of these families (75%) live in urban centers, with 39% in cities with population over 100,000. Indigenous families, quilombola communities, family farmers, waste pickers, homeless people and other specific groups accounted for 14% of the total.
Family Grant: the number of beneficiaries reached 13.5 million families in May 2012, with funds corresponding to 0.46% of GDP. The average benefit increased from R$ 97 to R$ 134 between 2010 and 2012, a 38% adjustment resulting from the improvements promoted by the Brazil without Extreme Poverty Plan.
URBAN PRODUCTIVE INCLUSION
National Program for Access to Technical Education and Employment (Programa Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Técnico e Emprego - Pronatec): 256,000 places were created for people registered in the Unified Register in the 27 states. Up to May, 123,000 people were enrolled, 70% women and 44% young people between 18 and 28 years old. The places are offered to 189 different courses such as administrative assistant, seamstress, electrician, caregiver for elderly persons, and computer operator among others.
Individual Entrepreneur (Empreendedor Individual - MEI): 171,000 new Individual Micro-entrepreneurs (MEI) enrolled in the Unified Register were formalized, of whom 81,000 are Family Grant beneficiaries. Additionally, technical assistance was provided to 23,000 entrepreneurs through SEBRAE’s Business to Business Program (Programa Negócio a Negócio).
RURAL PRODUCTIVE INCLUSION
Around 263,000 families in extreme poverty have benefited from more than one million assistance actions.
Promotion of rural productive activities
Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural - ATER): guaranteed to 129,000 families of extremely poor farmers, with 35,500 families in the Northeast and northern Minas Gerais already being assisted and another 93,400 that will be assisted starting from October 2012.
Stimulus to production: by May, 11,825 families had received the first installment of the grant in the amount of R$ 1,000. The other two installments of R$ 700 each will be paid at six-month intervals, totaling R$ 2,400 per family. The funds are used to implement a productive organization project developed and monitored by ATER agents.
Electricity for All (Luz para Todos)
A total of 114,000 extremely poor family farmers have already benefited from the Program, accounting for 44.3% of the 257,000 families to be benefited by 2014.
Water for All (Água para Todos)
By April 2012, cisterns had been built in 111,000 households in the semi-arid region. The plan is to deliver 290,000 cisterns by December 2012.
Green Grant (Bolsa Verde)
Until May 2012, 23,000 families living or working in national forests, federal extractive or sustainable development reserves, and environmentally sustainable settlements received the quarterly payment of R$ 300 in order to continue carrying out the conservation of environmental assets.
ACCESS TO SERVICES
More Education (Mais Educação): in 2012, approximately 33,000 schools have already joined the program, which guarantees full-time education. In 17,000 of these schools, most of the students are beneficiaries of the Family Grant Program.
Basic Health Units (UBS): 2,105 UBS under construction in extreme poverty areas and another 5,247 being remodeled.
Smiling Brazil (Brasil Sorridente): a total of 442,000 dental prostheses had been produced and 100 mobile dental units had been delivered by April 2012. Also, 65 new Specialized Dental Centers (Centro de Especialidades Odontológicas) established in municipalities with high concentration of families in extreme poverty.
CARING BRAZIL (BRASIL CARINHOSO) ACTION: BENEFIT FOR OVERCOMING EXTREME POVERTY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (BSP)
Since June 2012, the Family Grant Program has been providing an additional benefit aimed to ensure an income of over R$ 70 per person for all extremely poor families with children between 0 and 6 years of age. About two million families will benefit from the action.
2011 SUAS CENSUS SHOWS EXPANSION IN THE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE NETWORK
In 2011, the number of Specialized Social Assistance Reference Centers (Centros de Referência Especializada de Assistência Social - CREAS) increased 32.6%, with the establishment of 519 units. There are currently 2,109 CREAS in the whole country.
The number of Social Assistance Reference Centers (Centros de Referência de Assistência Social - CRAS) has also increased with the establishment of 674 new centers, totaling 7,475 units in 2011. Active search to identify extremely poor people out of the social protection net is among the main activities of the CRAS.
For the first time ever the SUAS (Unified Social Assistance System) Census included a survey on Specialized Reference Centers for the Homeless Population (POP Centers). A total of 90 centers have been established in 21 states since the inception of the initiative in 2009.
