Notícias
VIDEOCAST
“Me Conta, Brasil” shows how the Bolsa Família contributes to hunger and poverty eradication
Episode 43 - Faith in Brazil: Bolsa Família - Credit: Divulgação / Secom PR
The newest episode of “Me Conta, Brasil” (“Tell Me, Brazil”) presents the country’s largest income transfer program: the Bolsa Família. Available on the social media channels of the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (Secretaria de Comunicação Social da Presidência da República / SECOM/PR), the videocast program shows that this public policy goes beyond food provision, improving health, education, and income generation for Brazilian citizens.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
Me Conta, Brasil – Fé no Brasil - Bolsa Família (Episódio 43)
In 2024, over 20.8 million families were supported through the program, reaching Brazilian citizens from all municipalities. New measures were implemented to expand the program’s reach to women and children, as well as groups and populations in greater vulnerability, such as Indigenous persons, Quilombolas, and people living on the streets.
To explain the program, the episode counted on the participation of two guests from the Ministry of Social Development, Assistance, Family, and Hunger Eradication (Ministério do Desenvolvimento e Assistência Social, Família e Combate à Fome /MDS): Eliane Aquino, National Secretary of Citizenship Income, and Letícia Bartholo, Secretary of Information Management and Unified Registry.
“The Bolsa Família program has been very successful throughout its 21 years of existence. It really opened doors for many people. We look at the program and see that recent studies show that 65% of the children of the beneficiaries have not become beneficiaries because they had access to other public policies in their lives,” highlighted Aquino in the show.
The expansion of the program by family unit takes into consideration the size and characteristics of each family. “Throughout 2023 and 2024, we started to improve the focus of the program, making it shift its attention to the individuals’ family unit. The Bolsa Família plays a very important role because, again, it looks into the family structure,” added the secretary.
It really opened doors for many people. We look at the program and see that recent studies show that 65% of the children of the beneficiaries have not become beneficiaries because they had access to other public policies in their lives”
ELIANE AQUINO
MDS National Secretary of Citizenship Income
ECONOMY — Another relevant element refers to the contribution of the Bolsa Família program to the country’s economic heating. Secretary Aquino emphasized that, when the benefit reaches the families, the amount received is used to tend to basic needs, such as grocery shopping, generating a positive impact on the local economy.
“Thinking about the Bolsa Família is not just thinking of the resources that reach the families but also the full impact it has in heating the economy in the most underprivileged communities. When you see 14 billion reais circulating monthly through our country, it is the tradesperson who established their business in the peripheries who will be hiring people from the neighborhood,” stated Secretary Aquino.
OVERSIGHT — To ensure that resources reach the families who truly need them, the Federal Government has intensified the monitoring of registrations. According to Letícia Bartholo, this oversight begins at the municipal level. The secretary also highlighted the importance of society's role in combating fraud.
“Municipalities are the main actors in this because they are the places where the population resides. I find social vigilance to be extremely important. It is about you knowing whether that person in your community is rightfully accessing or not and also indicating those who may need the benefit and maybe have not been able to access it yet,” underscored Letícia Bartholo.
FOLLOW-UP — Families who benefit from the Bolsa Família must follow certain commitments to continue receiving the social transfer. These include school attendance for children and adolescents and vaccination of children under seven years of age. Secretary Aquino noted — and celebrated — that the follow-up goal for these families has been reached by anticipation.
“We set the goal of reaching 2026 with 80% follow-up. We managed to reach this goal last year, in 2024, in health and education. We achieved 80% follow-up of our children and adolescents in our country in the areas of health and education,” she highlighted.
In 2024, 28.2 million children and women received health assistance, including a follow-up of their vaccination calendar. Moreover, 570,000 pregnant women received prenatal care — which corresponds to almost 100% of the pregnant women who are in the Program.
We set the goal of reaching 2026 with 80% follow-up. We managed to reach this goal last year, in 2024, in health and education. We achieved 80% follow-up of our children and adolescents in our country”
LETÍCIA BARTHOLO
Secretary of Information Management and Unified Registry
UNIFIED REGISTRY — Responsible for information management of the Unified Registry (CadÚnico), Secretary Bartholo highlighted the importance of the database as a mapping tool to identify the needs of Brazilian families. “The Unified Registry will identify each person inside their family, in their address, and will identify not only how much that family earns, how much money it has to survive; it will identify the educational level of each member of the family, whether they have access to water, to electricity, to sanitation, their living conditions,” she detailed.
This identification allows for public policies at the federal, state, and municipal levels to reach those who need them the most. “So the Unified Registry allows us to map out the location of the Brazilian families who need the most support, to map out their needs so that the public policies from the federal level — but from states and municipalities — can fully tend to these people,” added Secretary Bartholo.
The entry door for the Unified Registry is the Social Assistance Reference Centre (Centro de Referência de Assistência Social /CRAS). Bartholo explained that the family must go to a CRAS office to proceed with the registration, bearing all required documentation, such as the Individual Taxpayer Registration (CPF) and personal documents of each family member.
ACTIVE SEARCH — During the show, Bartholo also explained how the MDS conducts the Active Search. Through this initiative, a social worker goes to the individual, prioritizing the most vulnerable people. “The Unified Registry does an active search for the most vulnerable people. These are people with disabilities, the elderly, Quilombolas, people in rural areas,” detailed the Secretary.
She underscored that the Active Search counts with the strong participation of states and municipalities to retrieve this information. These entities are mainly responsible for collecting data, updating, and monitoring the registrations.
“We coordinate the program together with the states and particularly with the municipalities. The mayors and social assistance secretaries in the municipalities are mainly responsible for managing information collection, verifying whether or not it is all correct, scheduling the registration of the families, and conducting the active search,” she observed.
WHAT IS IT — The “Me Conta, Brasil” show seeks to dialog with the population and publicize information about programs implemented by the Executive Branch that make a difference in the lives of the population. The idea of the videocast is to promote a venue for conversations that can explain how the public can ensure their rights and benefit from federal actions. Each episode brings two or more speakers to participate in the dialog.
