USAID CBJ FY 2002: Brazil

Summary: With a population of 169 million, Brazil has 35 million people living below the poverty line on less than $1/day, of whom 21 million are children. In spite of significant progress in education, with 96% of school-age children enrolled in formal schools, repetition and dropout rates continue to be high at 23.4% and 3.9%, respectively. Brazil has infant mortality rates similar to those of Vietnam at 36.1/1000, and the number of low-weight children at birth can be compared to Ghana's rates at 9.2%. The United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) 2000 survey encountered an extremely low Infant Development Index (IDI) for the Northeast states where USAID concentrates its at-risk youth efforts (Bahia at 0.451/1, Ceará at 0.517/1, and Pernambuco at 0.522/1). The IDI measures the living conditions of children based on criteria such as access to day care centers and health services. Child labor figures are also not encouraging. Data published in 1999 show a positive but slow trend towards reduction of the child labor force that dropped from 27% to 26% of the population aged 10-17, relative to 1998. Following two years of discussions involving the GOB, donors, civil society and the private sector, the momentum has finally been created for Brazilians to more seriously address severe social problems. Drawing from its 2000 Poverty Eradication Fund, the Government of Brazil (GOB) launched an offensive on poverty, pledging $6 billion for programs to address years of insufficient attention to the horrific plight of the poor. President Cardoso announced the expansion of a scholarship program to reach 10.7 million children. This locally developed model provides supplemental income to families keeping their children in school and has become a popular poverty eradication tool, though it has undergone deep changes since it was first implemented in Brasília. The original program provided one minimum wage ($75) per month to families keeping all their children in school until completion of the mandatory 8-year elementary cycle. As adopted by the GOB nationwide, the program will provide $8 per child attending school up to a maximum of three children per family, implying a ceiling of $24 per family which is often less than a child would bring home if working or begging. As such, the program may slightly mitigate poverty, but will eradicate neither poverty nor child labor unless a more advanced development perspective is adopted, including teacher training and income generation opportunities for parents. The GOB has other programs in place to address the needs of the most impoverished populations, but lack of coordination between these programs makes it harder for end users to access these benefits.

Street kids, working children and low-income families are among the most vulnerable populations in the country. Illiteracy, disease, delinquency, drug abuse, prostitution, early insertion in the job market, and human rights violations are some of the risks to which children are exposed. USAID's activities in the area of at-risk youth seek to support GOB, NGO, and other donor efforts to develop successful models that can be further refined and adopted as effective public policies.

Key Results: 1) school promotion rates of 88% among children assisted under activities that target improved school performance, compared to 68% among those not assisted; 2) 91% of participating youth completing vocational training courses; 3) 34% of youth ages 16-18 who completed vocational training courses effectively inserted in the labor market; 4) consolidation of a service network reaching 9,500 children and adolescents in 40 communities, 83 schools and 100 NGOs.

Performance and Prospects: The activity continues to make significant progress toward its goal of strengthening prevention and protection efforts that target at-risk youth and working children, non-governmental organizations (NGO), public services, and the public policy environment that impacts upon children and service providers. The program emphasizes education/vocational training, protection against domestic violence and sexual abuse, and child labor prevention and eradication. Crosscutting issues are prevention of early pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, and promotion of youth leadership.

The extension of the At-Risk Youth program through FY 2003 and its programmatic expansion to include child labor prevention and eradication derive from the activity's outstanding performance to date. Particularly noteworthy is USAID's capacity to leverage support from different sectors, including the GOB, private enterprise and other donors. In FY 2000, USAID conducted successful negotiations with the National Social and Economic Development Bank (BNDES) to access microcredit funds for family businesses. Brazil's second largest telecommunications company produced 16,000 promotional materials highlighting USAID-supported projects, a unique opportunity to disseminate USAID's work beyond target areas. Finally, USAID was able to leverage $500,000 from the advertising company Propeg and the telephone company Maxitel to support five projects assisting at-risk children in Bahia.

The activity continues to show considerable progress. The percentage of program-assisted youth finding legal positions in the job market increased from 20% in 1999 to 34% in 2000, in a market plagued by consistently high unemployment rates. Program-assisted youth receiving health-related services, including STI/HIV/AIDS prevention totaled 11,388 in 2000. USAID expects to increase this number with FY 2001 funds from the vulnerable children directive. 1408 new cases of violations of children's rights were identified and monitored by children's advocacy groups, resulting in 897 children referred to legal and rehabilitation services. School promotion rates of assisted youth reached 88%, surpassing the 87% target, and representing a 5% increase over 1999. Completion of vocational training courses increased from 83% in 1999 to 91% in 2000. USAID reached 16,339 youth, family members and educators through 264 events increasing awareness of health-related risk behavior. USAID also supported documentation of four innovative methodologies, and sponsored 43 dissemination events. In FY 2001 USAID will target identification of underage urban children in labor situations and move to incorporate them into the formal educational system.

USAID continues to encourage networks of NGOs and government organizations capable of providing diversified services to at-risk children. In 2000, USAID supported the creation of an Art-Education Network that brings together NGOs and government organizations that use art as their main educational tool. A USAID-designed and supported Vocational Training Network was granted the 2000 Social Entrepreneurs Award by the Ashoka-McKinsey Foundation as the second best and most innovative vocational training program in Brazil, resulting in a $35,000 donation and free technical assistance from McKinsey Associates.

USAID and the Federal University of Ceará established an innovative partnership to bring the university closer to the social environment by providing 80 social educators with a one-year university extension course that will grant them a much-valued certificate. In 2000, USAID took advantage of carnival activities to carry out mobilization efforts against sexual exploitation and abuse of children and adolescents. Information and communication materials produced for the events received broad media coverage.

In Brasília, USAID has been working to address the needs of street children who have broken ties with their families. One particularly important aspect for this population is vocational training and income generating activities, since most of these kids have not acquired the necessary skills to learn a profession. USAID established a workshop using wood residue as the prime material to produce marketable artwork. This cheap, easy-to-learn technique allowed street kids to produce quality pieces in a remarkably short period of time. Only six months after USAID started supporting this activity, assisted youth participated in eight exhibits selling approximately 120 pieces for prices between $10 and $75, representing a concrete income generation alternative for some 60 street adolescents.

Through support to BEMFAM, the local International Planned Parenthood affiliate, USAID provided direct health assistance to 350 street boys and girls in Ceará. In Salvador, the AIDS Prevention and Support Group (GAPA) empowered adolescent leaders to coordinate community-based AIDS prevention activities. In Recife, USAID initiated a partnership with the local institution Papai (Daddy) that targets male adolescents working around issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention, responsible fatherhood, violence in relationships, gender, and reproductive health.

In the area of child labor, USAID began implementation of its strategy by supporting the National Forum for Child Labor Prevention and Eradication in a seminar on regional strategies to fight the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. In 2001, USAID and UNICEF will develop effective ways to identify underage children working in informal urban settings. USAID expects the results of this research to serve as a parameter for comparison to the International Labor Organization (ILO), GOB, and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) effort to obtain reliable data on child labor through the national 2000 census.

Of the total $1,397,000 in FY 2001 funding, USAID will apply $414,200 to promote increased access of at-risk children and youth to formal, non-formal and vocational education systems. $200,800 will target decreased violence against children and youth, with emphasis on domestic violence and sexual exploitation and abuse. $499,000 will address the needs of children and youth affected by HIV/AIDS, including AIDS orphans, children living with HIV and HIV/AIDS prevention activities. The remaining $283,000 will be used to support dissemination of successful methodologies and training activities. With a lower budget of $1,050,000 in FY 2002, the program will support $300,000 in AIDS prevention and assistance activities; $300,000 in education; $200,000 to reduce violence rates against youth; and $250,000 in training, documentation, dissemination and replication of successful approaches.

Other Donor Programs: In 2000, USAID entered into an agreement with other donors such as OXFAM, Save the Children, World Vision, the C&A Institute and the Catholic Relief Services to establish a donor group to mobilize the private sector around social responsibility issues. USAID's child labor strategy was developed in close coordination with ILO and UNICEF, and is being implemented through strategic alliances with these and other donors at the local level. The termination of IDB's at-risk youth grant program, UNICEF's growing administration of GOB cost-sharing funds, and apportionment of child labor funds to Brazil in FY 2000 turned USAID into one of the largest international donors in the at-risk youth area. USAID increased collaboration with government oganizations at the national level as well as at the state and local levels, thus consolidating partnerships with local education and health departments. Other donor investments were: UNICEF, $3 million; Canada, $1.5 million; and ILO's International Program for Elimination of Child Labor, $1 million. USAID also increased collaboration with the GOB through the Ministries of Justice and Social Welfare, supporting the implementation of national programs and policies to assist children victimized by sexual exploitation and abuse.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID will continue to implement activities through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. PVO, National Association of the Partners of the Americas, and local NGOs and public schools.

FY 2002 Performance Table

Brazil 512-005

U.S. Financing

(In thousands of dollars)

	Obligations		Expenditures		Unliquidated
Through September 30, 1999	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	1,030	CSD	980	CSD	50	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Fiscal Year 2000	0	DA	0	DA
	2,150	CSD	950	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA
Through September 30, 2000	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	3,180	CSD	1,930	CSD	1,250	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Prior Year Unobligated Funds	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA	0	DA
	1,397	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001	0	DA
	1,397	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	SEED
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
			Future Obligations		Est. Total Cost
Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	1,050	CSD	0	CSD	5,627	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	SEED	0	SEED	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA

Brazil

Activity Data Sheet

FY 2002 Performance Table

Brazil 512-005

U.S. Financing