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BRAZIL
>> Return to Regional Overview >> Brazil Overview 
Introduction
Brazil's importance to the United States has been steadily increasing over the last few years. In spite of the economic and political crises that periodically affect the country's ability to progress more rapidly toward sustainable growth, Brazil has consolidated its status as the leading economic and political power in Latin America. Brazil's preponderant weight in Mercosur operations -- the Southern Cone free-trade zone, comprised of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay -- is indisputable. The successful rounds of negotiations on the Peru-Ecuador border issue can also be, to a large extent, attributed to Brazil's mediation role. Recently, the country became one of the largest emerging market members of the World Trade Organization, an example of positive economic change that can come from selected policy improvements. Brazil has impressed international financial markets by its capacity to react quickly and take measures to minimize the effects of the economic turmoil that began in Asia, moved to Russia and then confronted the nation in mid 1998/early 1999. Thanks to the country’s comparatively successful economic actions, Brazil continues to be an attractive market for foreign investment. Enjoying significant trade relations with the U.S. (U.S.$20 billion annually) and being the world's ninth largest economy, Brazil has emerged as a strong, dependable partner in the hemisphere. Brazil is of critical importance to U.S. citizens because of such issues as the global effects of environmental degradation in Brazilian rainforests, the rate of population growth of a country already having 160 million people and the spread of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS.
The Development Challenge
Brazil has been working toward effectively tackling structural problems that have been preventing more rapid and stable progress towards sustainable development. The Government of Brazil (GOB) has re-scheduled payments of its total official debt to all countries, of U.S.$237 billion. All official USAID debt was negotiated into a Loan Consolidation Agreement at the start of 1999, on which payments are current. Besides the proposed administrative, political and fiscal reforms being analyzed by Congress, it is important to point out the Government’s renewed efforts to increase economic competitiveness; improve its population’s living conditions; decentralize decision-making; and promote enforcement of environmental legislation. By deconcentrating development from previously favored regions, the Cardoso Administration has been attempting to reduce social inequalities and regional disparities. Nonetheless, despite some marked success in both the health and education sectors, the dire effects of years of poor economic, environmental and social management still persist and represent the core of USAID's development challenge in the country.
USAID's strategy for Brazil has been contributing to the achievement of the Agency's goals to Stabilize World Population and Protect Human Health and Protect the Environment. Given the scope of the global problems which could be addressed in Brazil, USAID/Brazil has chosen for its strategy to concentrate in two key program areas: in the environment goal area, the protection of globally important biodiversity and the reduction of greenhouse gases associated with climate change; in the health goal area, support for HIV/AIDS prevention, women's reproductive health and services to at-risk children and youth. USAID's program is an essential component of and is integrated with other Embassy programs within the 1999 Mission Performance Plan's (MPP) strategic goals of Broad Based Growth, Democracy, Environment, and Population and Health.
Brazil's main challenges in addressing global environmental priorities are reducing biodiversity loss and the threat of global climate change (GCC) by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the land use and energy sectors. USAID activities promote sound land use in the Amazon, the Atlantic Coastal Rainforest, the Cerrado and, more recently, the Pantanal. Due to serious risk of accidental fires in these ecosystems, USAID has directed renewed attention to fire preparedness and prevention. As a result of USAID’s efforts in FY 1998, wherein part of its contributions to the G-7 Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rainforest (PPG-7) supported a successful awareness raising campaign, fire dissemination efforts continued to expand in FY 1999. These efforts will continue in FY 2000, focusing on local, community-based alternatives to the use of fire in traditional agriculture, rather than fire suppression. However, given the magnitude of the threats to Brazil's natural ecosystems, USAID resources alone cannot significantly alter the loss of these natural areas. Thus, the environment program seeks to leverage resources with those of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry, multilateral banks, cooperatives, universities, and government agencies, allowing USAID to play a catalytic role in Brazil’s climate change and biodiversity efforts. USAID-funded actions have already successfully demonstrated the viability of reduced impact forest management for both timber and non-timber forest resources.
On the energy side, USAID targets its resources on increasing Brazil's ability to detect and mitigate energy sector climate change impact, focusing on policy, regulation, and financing mechanisms critical to environmentally sustainable energy. USAID’s assistance in this area also focuses on a group of 20 million people scattered in 60,000 rural communities either underserved by any traditional sources of energy or served by sources such as diesel generators, which are not only inefficient but also have high GHG emitting potential.
USAID's health program covers HIV/AIDS prevention, voluntary reproductive health and services to at-risk children and youth. Approximately 52% of reported AIDS cases in Latin America and the Caribbean are in Brazil and between 560,000 and 850,000 persons are infected with HIV. Of these, 220,000 are estimated to be low-income women who acquired the infection through heterosexual transmission, thus corroborating the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) findings that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil is concentrated among the poorest and most marginalized populations. Consistent with this epidemiological trend, USAID’s strategy is designed to increase sustainable, effective programs to prevent sexual transmission of HIV in selected target groups, which include women, adolescents, and low-income populations, as well as selected male groups and commercial sex workers. USAID’s technical assistance targets non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in partnership with the MOH’s National AIDS Coordination and is aimed at leveraging resources from the IBRD’s AIDS II loan to the GOB.
Although contraceptive prevalence in Brazil continues to increase and fertility levels continue to decline, services vary considerably across states and are often limited for adolescents and other underserved populations. USAID's program in reproductive health, planned for closeout in FY 2000, emphasizes increased access to family planning methods and improved quality and sustainability of family planning services. Lessons learned and successful models developed through USAID’s decades long assistance to Brazil will be documented in a final report to be disseminated in 2000. The USAID-developed PROQUALI model to increase reproductive health (RH) service quality is being replicated and expanded to different geographic regions by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). In this phase out stage, USAID has intensified its efforts to integrate AIDS prevention activities into reproductive health service sites in the public health network.
Street children and at-risk youth continue to be a serious problem in Brazil, especially in large urban areas of the Northeast. In 1999, problems within the juvenile justice system have also been given higher visibility due to recent, numerous prison rebellions. Furthermore, budget cuts last year at the federal level, driven by the fiscal adjustment goals agreed to with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), had a direct impact on social programs that assist children and adolescents. USAID-funded activities emphasize the promotion of children's rights and the provision of direct services, especially vocational training, education and health.
Other Donors
USAID's environment program leverages activities of multilateral donors, especially the World Bank (IBRD)-managed PPG-7 Program and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a multilateral fund managed jointly by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank. In addition to fire dissemination efforts, USAID's FY 2000 contribution to the IBRD's Rainforest Trust Fund will also fund scientific research on conservation management and sound natural resource development in the Brazilian Amazon, with participation of Brazilian scientists and stakeholders, the donor community and IBRD managers.
The energy program is engaged with the IBRD, the UNDP, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the design of loans and grants for the development of climate change activities in the energy arena, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy.
A U.S.$250 million energy efficiency loan from the IBRD has been approved and disbursement will be initiated in 2000. UNDP supported the establishment of a Management Unit in the Brazilian Program for the Energy Development of States and Municipalities (PRODEEM), targeted to manage practical activities identified under PRODEEM’s Action Plan. USAID has assisted PRODEEM in preparing financial proposals to the IDB-managed Multilateral Investment Fund (U.S.$2.25 million) and to the Japanese Special Fund (nearly U.S.$1 million), for activities targeted to renewable energy market development.
Nearing the conclusion of its reproductive health program in Brazil, USAID continues to coordinate its efforts with the World Bank, UNFPA, the IDB, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), especially with respect to the integration of the family planning and the HIV/AIDS prevention programs. The USAID-GOB dialogue has contributed to greater commitment by the GOB to family planning, standardization of norms for condom testing, and the addition of the injectable Depo-Provera to the list of contraceptives acquired with public funds.
Support to the MOH under the new HIV/AIDS strategy flows through USAID's participation in the UNAIDS Theme Group, composed of IBRD, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), WHO/PAHO and bilateral donors.
In the area of at-risk youth, UNICEF and the IDB are currently the largest donors. In the past year, besides continuing efforts to increase coordination with these and other donors, USAID strengthened partnerships with local foundations, such as Odebrecht and Instituto Ayrton Senna, thus expanding its significant parallel financed portfolio.
In 1998, the IBRD continued long-term loans in energy (U.S.$1 billion in 1998), sanitation and environment (U.S.$1.8 billion), and health (U.S.$740 million), while the IDB has U.S.$7 billion dollars in projects in the areas of environment, health and at-risk youth. Other donor contributions for environment from 1994 through 1998 were: Germany (U.S.$233 million); EU (U.S.$89.8 million); United Kingdom (U.S.$28 million); Japan (U.S.$10.7 million). The U.S contribution in the same period totaled U.S.$37 million. Japan alone conducts a multi-billion dollar assistance program directed to Brazil's savanna zone. In 1999, UNICEF's investment in health and at-risk youth amounted to approximately U.S.$11 million. As compared to other donors' contributions, the United States ranks fifth in environment and second in reproductive health.
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Last Updated on: December 21, 2000 |
