The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil

In the recent decades, Brazil has outperformed comparable countries in its progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Many of these improvements have been driven by investments in health and social policies. In this article, we aim to identify potential impacts of austerity policies i...

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Main Authors: Davide Rasella, Luis Eugenio Portela Fernandes de Souza, Rafael Damasceno de Barros, Maurício Lima Barreto, Thomas V Hone, Rômulo Paes de Sousa, Christopher J Millett, Julia Pescarini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2019-10-01
Series:BMJ Global Health
Online Access:https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/5/e001661.full
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author Davide Rasella
Luis Eugenio Portela Fernandes de Souza
Rafael Damasceno de Barros
Maurício Lima Barreto
Thomas V Hone
Rômulo Paes de Sousa
Christopher J Millett
Julia Pescarini
author_facet Davide Rasella
Luis Eugenio Portela Fernandes de Souza
Rafael Damasceno de Barros
Maurício Lima Barreto
Thomas V Hone
Rômulo Paes de Sousa
Christopher J Millett
Julia Pescarini
author_sort Davide Rasella
collection DOAJ
description In the recent decades, Brazil has outperformed comparable countries in its progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Many of these improvements have been driven by investments in health and social policies. In this article, we aim to identify potential impacts of austerity policies in Brazil on the chances of achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and its consequences for population health. Austerity’s anticipated impacts are assessed by analysing the change in federal spending on different budget programmes from 2014 to 2017. We collected budget data made publicly available by the Senate. Among the selected 19 programmes, only 4 had their committed budgets increased, in real terms, between 2014 and 2017. The total amount of extra money committed to these four programmes in 2017, above that committed in 2014, was small (BR$9.7 billion). Of the 15 programmes that had budget cuts in the period from 2014 to 2017, the total decrease amounted to BR$60.2 billion (US$15.3 billion). In addition to the overall large budget reduction, it is noteworthy that the largest proportional reductions were in programmes targeted at more vulnerable populations. In conclusion, it seems clear that the current austerity policies in Brazil will probably damage the population’s health and increase inequities, and that the possibility of meeting SDG targets is lower in 2018 than it was in 2015.
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spelling doaj-art-70985aff5b42475caf98b6274a63e37f2024-12-14T09:05:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082019-10-014510.1136/bmjgh-2019-001661The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in BrazilDavide Rasella0Luis Eugenio Portela Fernandes de Souza1Rafael Damasceno de Barros2Maurício Lima Barreto3Thomas V Hone4Rômulo Paes de Sousa5Christopher J Millett6Julia Pescarini7Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BrazilInstituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BrazilInstituto de Saúde Coletiva, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BrazilCentro de de Integração de Dados e Conhecimentos para Saúde (CIDACS) FIOCRUZ, Salvador, Bahia, BrazilSchool of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UKFundação Oswaldo Cruz, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Belo Horizonte, BrazilSchool of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK3 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UKIn the recent decades, Brazil has outperformed comparable countries in its progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Many of these improvements have been driven by investments in health and social policies. In this article, we aim to identify potential impacts of austerity policies in Brazil on the chances of achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and its consequences for population health. Austerity’s anticipated impacts are assessed by analysing the change in federal spending on different budget programmes from 2014 to 2017. We collected budget data made publicly available by the Senate. Among the selected 19 programmes, only 4 had their committed budgets increased, in real terms, between 2014 and 2017. The total amount of extra money committed to these four programmes in 2017, above that committed in 2014, was small (BR$9.7 billion). Of the 15 programmes that had budget cuts in the period from 2014 to 2017, the total decrease amounted to BR$60.2 billion (US$15.3 billion). In addition to the overall large budget reduction, it is noteworthy that the largest proportional reductions were in programmes targeted at more vulnerable populations. In conclusion, it seems clear that the current austerity policies in Brazil will probably damage the population’s health and increase inequities, and that the possibility of meeting SDG targets is lower in 2018 than it was in 2015.https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/5/e001661.full
spellingShingle Davide Rasella
Luis Eugenio Portela Fernandes de Souza
Rafael Damasceno de Barros
Maurício Lima Barreto
Thomas V Hone
Rômulo Paes de Sousa
Christopher J Millett
Julia Pescarini
The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil
BMJ Global Health
title The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil
title_full The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil
title_fullStr The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil
title_full_unstemmed The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil
title_short The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil
title_sort potential impact of austerity on attainment of the sustainable development goals in brazil
url https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/5/e001661.full
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