Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).
BRAZIL
FY 1998 DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUND REQUEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,150,000 Introduction
Brazil is critically important to the U.S. national interest because of its vast size, a population of 155 million, and an economy of $500 billion. Brazil is a pivotal state and the predominant power in Latin America, a strategic ally of the United States, and a valuable trading partner with over $20 billion in bilateral trade. The U.S. interest in long-term, sustainable development in Brazil is hampered by Brazil's past performance of poor economic management, an extremely uneven distribution of income, and serious problems in issues of global importance such as the environment, population, and health care. In 1996, the Government of Brazil (GOB) continued its commitment to modernize Brazil through social, economic, and democratic reforms and the pursuit of growth. Within this context, modest U.S. assistance on global issues can play a catalytic role in accelerating this modernization in Brazil.The Development Challenge
Under the leadership of President Cardoso, economic and political stability have continued. The GOB has shown a willingness to pursue genuine changes in difficult areas such as fiscal policy, energy and telecommunications privatization, intellectual property rights, human rights advancement, administration of justice, anti-corruption, and environmental clean-up. On the macroeconomic side, Brazil continues with its ambitious economic restructuring program designed to bring inflation down, dismantle state control of the economy, and encourage greater private sector investment. As a result, the average monthly inflation rate is less than 2 percent. Brazil's total external debt at the end of 1995 represented 1.4 percent of Brazil's GDP and 17.4% of export earnings. Brazil concluded a commercial debt rescheduling agreement in April 1994 and has fully complied with the commitments of this agreement. Official bilateral debt with the U.S. has also been renegotiated.Brazil's 155 million population and rich resources make it a country of tremendous potential. However, it also has high levels of income inequality and extreme poverty, particularly in the Northeast, which has 30 million people below the poverty line. Deforestation in the Amazon, reducing greenhouse gases, and preserving biodiversity are problems of global concern. Population growth rate in Brazil has slowed, reflecting rapid fertility decline between 1965 and 1990. However, the high aggregate contraceptive prevalence rate masks significant regional variations and serious distortions in the family planning sector that have important implications for reproductive health. Also impinging on the weak public health system, and increasingly impacting women and adolescents, is the AIDS epidemic in Brazil. Brazil has the second highest number of reported acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases in the world, and it is estimated that 500,000 Brazilians are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
To address these challenges the USAID program currently has three strategic objectives in the areas of environment, reproductive health and AIDS prevention. There are also three special objectives that concentrate in areas which are of special interest to the U.S. such as the democratic process and human rights. Over 80% of the program is implemented through U.S. and Brazilian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), consistent with USAID policy and the new openness toward NGOs and civil society in Brazil. As the relationship between U.S. and the GOB continues to strengthen, USAID assistance ensures that matters of U.S. national and global interest are addressed in a collaborative manner.
Other Donors Because of the quality of U.S. technical assistance and the strategic approach of the USAID program, USAID has been instrumental in developing pilot projects which the multilateral banks, other donors, and the GOB are able to replicate, multiplying the impact of USAID resources. USAID developed an AIDS prevention program considered as a "model" by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, which will now assume responsibility for continuation of the program with World Bank loan funds. Four projects worth more than $30 million of the World Bank managed G-7 Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest were redesigned in 1996 with the help of the USAID environment collaborators, to more closely reflect societal needs and realities in the Brazilian Amazon.
USAID has collaborated with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Germany, Japan and Canada. In FY 1996, the United States provided $12.5 million to Brazil, which is about 24% of the amount provided by Japan and 31% of the amount provided by Germany.
FY 1998 Program
The USAID program in 1998 will focus on continuing the phase-down of the Reproductive Health strategic objective, scheduled for completion in 2000. With the first phase of the AIDS prevention strategy completed successfully in 1997, 1998 will initiate the second phase, shifting the geographic focus of the program to the impoverished Northeast and to the heretofore undeserved populations of women and adolescents. The 1998 environment program will focus on activities in three ecosystems: the Amazon, Atlantic Rain Forest, and Pantanal/Cerrado. Within this context, programs will be initiated which fund applied research and extend already tested research in sustainable forestry to additional areas of the central and lower Amazon. A second Parks-in-Peril project will be initiated in an area of southern Atlantic rain forest. In addition to USAID's three strategic objectives, three special objectives will be implemented in FY 1998: At-Risk Youth and Administration of Justice, and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.Agency Goal: Stabilizing World Population Growth and Protecting Human Health
Population growth in Brazil has slowed substantially, reflecting the rapid fertility decline that occurred between 1965 and 1990. According to the USAID 1996 Demographic Health Survey, the total fertility rate is 2.5 children per reproductive aged woman, and modern method contraceptive prevalence is 70.3%. However, Northeastern Brazil, with a population of over 40 million (about 30% of the national total) lags behind the rest of the country in terms of social indicators, including infant mortality, total fertility and contraceptive prevalence rates. Accordingly, USAID's population assistance resources are concentrated in Northeast Brazil, where the need to improve quality and sustainability is greater because of the region's poverty, population pressures, and poor reproductive health indicators. USAID's program seeks to improve the generally low quality of existing family planning services in order to ensure that a balanced, high-quality sustainable program exists in target areas by the end of this final assistance period, 1998-2000. The USAID strategy concentrates on expanding the limited range of family planning methods available, increasing information about reproductive health care, and integrating family planning with women's health care delivery systems in the private and public sectors. Sustainability is also a priority objective for USAID assistance in Brazil, focussing on strengthening of service delivery systems and assumption of financial responsibility in the public, private, and non-governmental sectors in conjunction with replacement of USAID-donated contraceptives with an alternative supply system.The results of the 1996 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), which USAID was able to co-fund with other donors, documents the positive results of USAID's efforts in Brazil. Seventy percent of Brazilian families now have family planning services available. Over the years USAID support has played an important and evolving role in the development of family planning in Brazil, with USAID funding helping to legitimize family planning in Brazil, establishing service delivery mechanisms, channelling contraceptives to underserved groups, and serving as the cutting edge of efforts to broaden method mix and improve the quality of services. Since 1992 the program has developed viable family planning programs in the two states of Ceara and Bahia, with the current focus on strengthening the quality of the services and ensuring sustainability. USAID technical assistance is strengthening the management, logistics, education, and training systems of these programs. In order to ensure that these programs are sustained, USAID is formalizing the State government's commitment fully support the training, personnel, and commodity needs of these programs by the year 2000. A major achievement is the successful commodities procurement organization established by the USAID program that is providing high quality IUDs to the public and private sector and will be self-financing by 1998. The State Secretariat of Health of Bahia has assumed most of the local costs of the family planning services and the State Secretariat of Ceara is committed to the integration of the reproductive health program within its priority Safe Motherhood program.
Brazil has the second largest number of AIDS cases in the world and AIDS is the most serious public health problem in Brazil. Over 82,000 cases of AIDS were reported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health between 1980 and May 1996, and more than 500,000 Brazilians are estimated to be infected with HIV. In 1985 the male-to-female ratio of reported AIDS cases was 28:1, while in 1995 the overall ratio was 3:1, and almost half of all cases in 1994 were due to heterosexual contact. This has significant implications for women, traditionally underserved by prevention programs. In S%o Paulo, AIDS is now the leading cause of death among reproductive aged women.
USAID AIDS prevention program has pioneered successful approaches in Brazil are being replicated by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and World Bank nation-wide. Interventions include using local NGOs to reach high risk groups, strengthening sexually transmitted diseases control services in the public health system, and peer counselling to facilitate behavior change. The USAID contraceptive social marketing program introduced the first low cost product in the Brazilian market, and has generated an increased demand for the product and stimulated the introduction of additional low priced condoms in the marketplace.
1998 will be the first full year of implementation for the second phase of USAID Brazil's AIDS Prevention strategy. Developed in close collaboration with the GOB's Ministry of Health (MOH), the USAID strategy will concentrate on developing model prevention programs to address the spread of the epidemic to women and adolescents, building upon and integrating with our current programs in the Northeast of Brazil in health and at-risk youth. USAID will also forge innovative community based approaches for women and adolescents and other select target groups. The new SO reflects new epidemic trends in Brazil and seeks to reduce the HIV/AIDS epidemic's social, economic, and political impact.
Strategic Objective 1: Increase access to contraceptive methods and integrated family planning services in order to improve women's reproductive health.
Strategic Objective 3: Increase use of improved, effective and sustainable responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Agency Goal: Protecting the Environment
Environment: Brazil considered a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions because of deforestation and burning that take place extensively in the Amazon as well as the savanna (cerrado) zone. By disseminating sustainable development alternatives throughout the Amazon region and reducing the frequency of burning in the savannas, CO2 emissions are reduced and biodiversity is conserved, while encouraging stable economic growth through a participatory, local-level approach. USAID has taken the lead in Brazil in attacking these problems through innovative partnerships between U.S. environmental private voluntary organizations and Brazilian NGOs. The USAID environmental program focuses on the protection and sustainable use of natural resources in Brazil's critical regions for biodiversity, including the Amazon (major focus), Atlantic Forest and Cerrado regions, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation.
USAID, through its local partners, has been successful in influencing the design of several components of the $260 million World Bank Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest. These partners have played an important role in the redesign and change of environmental policies. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been involved in the redesign of the GOB's National Protected Area Management System.
Energy: Brazil is moving rapidly to modernize and open Brazil's $500 billion economy and major sectors such as energy, telecommunications, and transportation are soon to be privatized and are of great interest to U.S. firms. Within this context, the energy sector in Brazil is undergoing a dramatic transformation. The estimated energy needs to sustain the impressive economic growth are immense and generation capacity is already below requirements, with brown-outs already occurring in major industrial areas of Sao Paulo. At the same time, public sector investment is not only failing to meet current and projected demand levels, but estimates are that investments on the order of $10 to $15 billion will be required by the year 2000 to meet rising demand. USAID assistance is being provided to increase environmentally sound energy production and use in order to assure that traditional, unsustainable methods, which generate considerable amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG) are not used. Since August 1995, USAID has implemented the Brazil Energy Program (BEP) which focuses on promoting energy efficiency, promoting the use of renewable energy sources (wind, solar, biomass), and influencing the on-going energy sector reforms that will increase participation of the private sector in the electricity sub-sector in Brazil and create a more efficient system. All these activities contribute to the mitigation of global climate change by eliminating and/or reducing GHG emissions from fossil and other fuels. The BEP is part of the U.S. response to the presidential agreements of the December 1994 Summit of the Americas and helps identify and open business opportunities for the U.S. energy industry in the multi-billion energy market in Brazil. The REPSO - Renewable Energy Project Support Office is laying the groundwork for a $100 million World Bank/GEF renewable energy project in Brazil suited to both grid-connected and private off-grid energy needs.
Strategic Objective 2: Environmentally and socio-economically sustainable alternatives for sound land use adopted beyond target areas.
Special Objective 3: Increased environmentally sound energy production and use. Agency Goal: Building Democracy
At-risk Youth: USAID's At-Risk Youth activity implemented by Partners of the Americas, addresses the critical issues of human rights and justice. Through this activity USAID provides assistance to children and youth at risk of illiteracy, delinquency, drug abuse, prostitution, and human rights' violations. The roots of this problem in Brazil are inter alia: (1) large income distribution inequalities; (2) marked regional disparities, with higher socio-economic indicators in the South/Southeast region and extreme poverty in the North/Northeast region; (3) poor administration of the public educational and health systems; and (4) the adoption of a punitive rather than rehabilitative juvenile justice system. USAID's strategy focuses on expanding the capacity of governmental and non-governmental organizations to provide services to at-risk youth, including strengthening youth centers; local coalitions and regional service networks; training; documentation of educational methodologies; and direct provision of services to at-risk youth through legal assistance and market-oriented vocational training programs. Funding is concentrated in the three largest Northeastern capitals, where UNICEF estimates that 1,300,000 children live under especially difficult circumstances.Administration of Justice: A modern, effective justice system in Brazil is important to regional security and U.S. interests, yet the legal system is antiquated, ineffectual, and slow; little coordination exists between police and prosecutors in conducting investigations; and judges have very broad roles and experience tremendous difficulty handling the large volume of cases. At the same time crime and narcotics related violence is rising. The Brazilian government has clearly indicated its commitment to judicial reform and wants the United States as a partner. Thus, the timing is right for developing a modest, focused administration of justice program for Brazil. The effort will focus on the following four areas and provide: (1) Assistance to the GOB in developing policies, procedures, and practices for the development and implementation of organized crime task forces; (2) An overview of the concept, utility, and structure of organized crime task forces to senior Brazilian federal police, prosecutors, and judges; (3) Training and technical assistance to federal police and prosecutors to establish task forces for investigating organized crime; and (4) Follow-up technical assistance to police and prosecutors as they apply the training and develop the task force concept.
Special Objective 1: Improved quality of life for at-risk youth in target areas
Special Objective 2: Improve Administration of Justice through strengthened capacity of prosecutors and police.
BRAZIL
FY 1998 PROGRAM SUMMARY(000's)
USAID Mission Director: Edward L. Kadunc
USAID Strategic Objectives Enrouraging Economic Growth Stabilizing Population Growth and Protecting Human Health Protecting the Environment Building Democracy Providing Humanitarian Assistance Total 1. Increase access to contraceptive methods and integrated family planning services to improve women's reproductive health Dev. Assistance
3,000
3,000
2. Increase use of improved, effective responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic Dev. Assistance
2,000
2,000
3. Environmentally and socio-economically sustainable alternatives for sound land use adopted beyond target areas. Dev. Assistance
4,750
4,750
1. At-risk Youth Dev. Assistance
500 500
2. Administration of Justice Dev. Assistance
150
150
3. Renewable energy and energy efficiency Dev. Assistance
750 750 Total Dev. Assistance
5,500
5,500
150
11,150
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET PROGRAM: BRAZIL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increase access to contraceptive methods and integrated family planning services in order to improve women's reproductive health - 512-S001
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $3,000,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000
Purpose: To improve quality of family planning services, increase access to reproductive health, and improve sustainability of family planning delivery systems.
Background: Brazil has a population of 155 million persons, the largest in Latin America. Maternal mortality is excessively high for Latin America, at 200 deaths per 100,000 births. Family planning use, according to the 1996 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) is 70% for the country as a whole, but regional disparities persist. Due to limited access to a full range of contraceptive methods, family planning use is heavily concentrated on female sterilization and oral contraceptives. In the Northeast, a heavily populated and extremely poor region of 40 million people, where USAID assistance is targeted, health services for women and children are disorganized, underfunded, and of very poor quality. Health care in Brazil is characterized by a weak service delivery system that neglects preventive care and concentrates resources on expensive curative care for select populations. USAID is assisting the development and implementation of service delivery systems, public and private, for low-income people, that emphasize preventive services, especially in maternal and child health. Improving the provision of family planning services is a priority.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID assistance is channelled through U.S. NGOs which work in conjunction with the state health departments in the Northeast states of Ceara and Bahia. With USAID assistance, the availability of reproductive health services has been expanded, and the quality of services improved to the benefit of low income women. DHS data show that USAID support for public sector health care in the Northeast has increased the overall use of contraception by ten percentage points; and the contraceptive method mix has become more diversified, including an increase in condom use. USAID's assistance has helped to generate an increased demand for reproductive health services within the country. Over the next few years as USAID assistance is progressively phased down, the focus of the program will be to ensure that the Government of Brazil (GOB) and NGOs are capable of sustaining these programs.
Description: USAID's family planning assistance aims to improve the quality of women's reproductive health services, and to ensure that a balanced, high-quality, and sustainable program exists in Ceara and Bolivia by the end of 2000. USAID's role in the provision of contraceptive commodities has diminished over time, with this responsibility being assumed by other organizations or the GOB. The USAID strategy, carefully developed with U.S.-based PVOs and local NGOs, concentrates on expanding the limited range of family planning methods, increasing information about reproductive health care, and integrating family planning with viable service delivery systems in the public and private sectors. In both Ceara and Bolivia long-range strategic plans have been developed by the states' health services and detailed implementation plans are produced and updated each year. The goal is to develop and institutionalize programs at the state level, and commitment to sustain reproductive health programs as USAID support phases down. In other Northeast states, USAID continued to provide minor support through the Brazilian International Planned Parenthood Federation affiliate (BEMFAM). BEMFAM focuses on improving the quality of family planning services by providing a wider range of method choice.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID and UNFPA collaborate closely on assistance to the state of Ceara. The Japanese International Cooperation Agency is assisting the Health Secretariat in Ceara in the area of maternal and child health. A joint $1.2 billion project between the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Government of Brazil for a 10-year health sector rehabilitation and reform project has been recently approved.
Beneficiaries: USAID-supported activities are targeted to low-income women in the areas of Bahia and Ceara, which have an estimated combined population of 20 million persons.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements its activities through U.S. private voluntary organizations and U.S. firms which have been awarded contracts and grants from the Global Bureau's Population Office. This includes Pathfinder Fund, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Futures Group, Population Council, Johns Hopkins University, and Georgetown University, among others.
Major Results Indicators:
Baseline Target
Unwanted fertility rate 1992 - 1.6 1998 - 1.0
Contraceptive Prevalence rate 1991 - 37% 1998 - 50%
Access and availability of family planning services 1992 - 20% 1998 - 70%
Couple years of protection provided by the public sector
in Bahia 1993 - 18,188 1998 - 150,000
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET PROGRAM: BRAZIL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased use of improved, effective and sustainable responses to the HIV/AIDS
epidemic - 512-S002
STATUS: New
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 98: $ 2,000,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 97 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2002
Purpose: Increased use of improved, effective and sustainable responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic
Background: A review of USAID's HIV/AIDS prevention program was conducted in 1996 to assess future short-term and mid-term objectives and to provide recommendations for future HIV/AIDS programming. Following the review team recommendations, the new SO "Increased use of improved, effective and sustainable responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic" will base future actions upon epidemiological trends, and consolidate current programs in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, extending interventions to large, underserved urban centers within these states. The new strategy will advocate the use of successful prevention models to expand HIV/AIDS prevention activities through the transfer of technical skills to the public and NGO sectors of the Northeast, through a linkage with ongoing USAID reproductive health projects. This will include the use of existing program resources in Rio as models for future program expansion in the Northeast. Furthermore, USAID will seek to promote the provision of Sexual Transmitted Disease-STD/HIV services within existing state and municipal programs to strengthen reproductive health services. Data collection and analysis will be strengthened along with the provision of technical assistance in the development and enhancement surveillance of STD/HIV infections.
Description: The following intermediate results should lead to attaining the goal to increase use of effective responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic: (1) Increase quality, availability, and demand for information and services to change sexual risk behaviors and cultural norms; (2) enhance quality, availability, and demand for Sexual Transmitted Infection - STI prevention and management services; and (3) increase demand for and access to barrier methods for the prevention of HIV transmission. Illustrative activities under the new HIV/AIDS SO include: technical assistance and support to design and implement communications strategies and programs; operations research; development and dissemination of improved approaches to integrating HIV/AIDS prevention into family planning settings; support to improving STD diagnosis, treatment, and referral practices; training; and strengthening of condom social marketing programs, among others.
Host Country and Other Donors: The World Bank $250 million loan to the Ministry of Health (MOH) continues to be the main HIV/AIDS prevention area program in Brazil.
Beneficiaries: Low income women and their partners; adolescents; at-risk youth; STD patients.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID will implement activities through U..S. PVO, to be selected.
Major results indicators: under development
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: BRAZIL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Environmentally Sustainable Alternatives for Sound Land Use Adopted - 512-S003
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $4,750,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 1999
Purpose: To increase protection and sustainable use of natural resources in Brazil's critical regions for biodiversity, including the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado (savanna) regions, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation.
Background: Brazil is considered a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions because of deforestation and burning that take place extensively in the Amazon as well as the Cerrado zone. By disseminating sustainable development alternatives throughout the Amazon region and reducing the frequency of burning in the savannas, CO2 emissions are reduced and biodiversity is conserved, while encouraging stable economic growth through a participatory, democratic local-level approach. In the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil and to a lesser extent in the Amazon, severe forest fragmentation threatens the viability of tropical forest biodiversity. USAID has taken the lead in Brazil in attacking these problems through innovative partnerships between U.S. and Brazilian NGOs.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID, through support to local NGO efforts and training of key individuals has made a major difference on the course of integrating development and conservation in the Amazon and more recently in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado regions. The first full demonstration of low-impact timber harvest in the Amazon was sponsored by USAID and implemented by IMAZON (Institute for Man and the Amazon Environment) in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and has already served as a model for adoption by private timber association members and was key to the design of a new $18.1 million World Bank activity in forest resource management through the G-7 Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest. The USAID-funded Tropical Forest Foundation has developed a partnership with five timber companies to establish criteria for reduced-impact harvesting and training of logging personnel. Woods Hole Research Center in partnership with IPAM (the Amazon Environmental Research Institute), is developing a new project in community forest management in the Rio Gelado settlement, also in Pará state. The Woods Hole/IPAM model will emphasize integrated natural forest management of both timber and non-timber forest resources to reduce pressure to clear forests for traditional agriculture.
The Woods Hole Research Center through a grant from USAID is working with farmers in communities in the Eastern Amazon to promote simple fire control techniques to avoid accidental fires. After the loss of plots and cattle due to fire, the Del Rey community, in which women are assuming an ever increasing leadership role, decided to implement their own fire policy to reduce the incidence of accidental burns, reducing forest damage. Another outcome of the Woods Hole group intervention was an invitation by the Brazilian Government to participate in the design of a fire prevention program for the entire Amazon. Conservation International and their local partner, IESB (Institute for Socio-Economic Studies of Southern Bahia), were especially successful in promoting ecotourism as an economic alternative for conservation in Southern Bahia State. A luxury hotel in the area surrounding the Una Biological Reserve in Southern Bahia agreed to invest in an Endangered Species Management and Visitors Center, in a unique partnership with CI and IESB that promises to advance environmental education and generate revenues that will be invested in conservation of habitat. The economic potential of ecotourism also spurred the State of Bahia, with CI/IESB guidance and resources from the Inter-American Development Bank, to create a new state park and forest reserve as a precondition to development of a road and tourist corridor linking the city of Ilhéus to the city of Itacaré.
Two new activities were initiated in 1996 linking health and environment. Through a grant to Pathfinder, a U.S. reproductive health PVO, reproductive health activities are being incorporated into the work of existing environmental programs. Pathfinder is working with FUNATURA, one of the oldest environmental NGOs in Brazil dedicated primarily to conservation in the Cerrado region, in the Grande Sert%o Veredas National Park,one of the poorest regions in the country. The second activity is being developed with JUPARA, a grassroots NGO that promotes community organization, sustainable agriculture, environmental education, and conservation of forest cover among small scale producers surrounding the Una Biological Reserve.
Description: Incorporating the lessons learned from the original USAID Global Climate Change (GCC) Project, this project is supporting adoption of sound land use practices in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado regions. The environmental program is implemented by a number of U.S. agencies and NGOs through agreements with in-country partners. The Program focuses on: 1) protected area management in two major National Parks, one Extractive Reserve, one National Forest, one State Protected Area, and the buffer zone surrounding one Biological Reserve; 2) forest management alternatives for low-impact harvest of upland timber in the largest timber harvesting region in the Eastern Amazon; 3) fire science and management to reduce the effects of uncontrolled burning on local biodiversity and global warming; 4) agroforestry alternatives for restoring productivity to degraded cleared areas, developed in a participatory approach with small holders; 5) natural resource policy and environmental education, with federal, state, and local officials and land managers; and 6) building local capacity and strengthening NGOs.
Host Country and Other Donors: USAID works in accord with Brazilian Government programs as an integral part of the U.S./Brazil Common Agenda on the Environment. Assistance is provided directly to U.S. NGOs who have a presence in the country working with Brazilian partners. Activities under the USAID environmental program leverage those of other multilateral donors, especially the World Bank's G-7 Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest, the Global Environment Facility, and the Brazilian Fund for Biodiversity (FUNBIO).
Beneficiaries: Rural communities and especially small holders who frequently have only traditional rights to their land are the focus of USAID activities. USAID-supported actions benefit Brazilian society at large by assuring that the resource base is maintained for future generations. Benefits will also result at the international level from protecting tropical forests and biodiversity, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements activities through U.S. PVOs (World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, and the Woods Hole Research Center), U.S. Government Agencies such as the USDA Forest Service and the Smithsonian Institution, and several U.S. academic institutions (University of Florida and the State University of New York).
Major Results Indicators:
Baseline Target
Families adopting sustainable management systems 0 (1991) 500 (1999)
Hectares in protected areas using improved
management systems 0 (1991) 3,722,000 (1999)
Low impact logging systems developed and validated 0 (1991) 3 (1999)
Trained environmental professionals 0 (1991) 1,500 (1999)
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET PROGRAM: BRAZIL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Quality of Life for At-Risk Youth 512-SP01
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY98: $500,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1994; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000
Purpose: To improve life conditions of at-risk youth by expanding local capacity to provide services to children and youth living in especially difficult circumstances.
Background: The situation of children and youth in Brazil is precarious. There is a strong association between youth living in and on the streets, and poverty. The Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) estimates that over 45 million Brazilians live below the poverty line. Of these, 30 million are children under the age of 18. This poverty is increasingly concentrated in urban slum areas. In Northeast Brazil alone, 1,300,000 children are at risk of illiteracy, disease, delinquency, drug abuse, prostitution, and human rights violations.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID, through support to local NGO efforts in Northeast Brazil has made a major difference in creating new approaches to tackle sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, enhance and modernize vocational training, and embed family preservation into different areas of assistance to at-risk youth. In 1996, USAID support was instrumental in getting over 1,000 out-of-school children into public schools.
Description: The focus of USAID's At-Risk Youth project is improving the quality of life of at-risk youth in three large, poor capitals in Northeast Brazil. In seeking to achieve this objective, USAID develops activities capable of promoting changes in three fundamental areas in the youth's surrounding environment: family ties, schooling and employment. USAID's strategy involves leveraging Government of Brazil (GOB), other donor, NGO and/or private sector resources toward replication of successful and innovative models. Today, 17 indigenous organizations receive USAID financial and technical assistance. USAID expects at least 9 new subgrants to be signed in the near future. The authorized program extension and expansion through September 2000 will focus on supporting existing, successful initiatives in the areas of vocational training, prevention of child and adolescent prostitution, and promotion of children and youth rights.
Host Country and Other Donors: UNICEF, IDB, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the European Union (EU) are currently the major donors in the at-risk youth area in Brazil. Coordination with other donors was increased in 1996, including a major joint training strategy being developed with UNICEF.
Beneficiaries: USAID activities are targeted to assist low-income children and youth in the cities of Fortaleza, Recife and Salvador. Approximately 30,000 children and their families should benefit from USAID support.
Principal Contractor: USAID implements activities through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. private voluntary organization National Association of the Partners of the Americas.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target
Number of at-risk youth receiving services 1994 - 0 1998 - 20,000
% of children completing the school year 1994 - N/A 1998 - 65%
% of at-risk youth trained with gainful employment 1994 - N/A 1998 - 70%
Number of youth services strengthened 1994 - 0 1998 - 25
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET PROGRAM: BRAZILTITLE AND NUMBER: Administration of Justice - 512-SP02
STATUS: New
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY98: $150,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 1998
Purpose: The goal of this project is to assist the GOB develop improved police/prosecutor collaboration in criminal investigation of organized through the establishment of organized crime task forces.
Background: Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, is a constitutional Federal Republic. Two state police forces exist in Brazil: a Civil Police force responsible for investigations, and a Military Police force which maintains public order. A small federal police force is responsible for investigations involving organized crime, narcotics, money laundering, tax evasion, corruption, and antitrust matters. Brazil has a high crime rate and an inefficient criminal justice system plagued with charges of corruption and burdened by staggering caseloads. Little coordination exists between police and prosecutors in conducting investigations. Judges have very broad roles and experience tremendous difficulty handling the large volume of cases.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: In October 1995, during a USAID assessment trip to Brazil, Minister Jobim, Brazilian Attorney General Brindeiro, and other Brazilian officials expressed their interest in assistance from the Department of Justice in a number of areas, specifically in improved police/prosecutor collaboration in criminal investigations and organized crime. As a result, the Department of Justice (ICITAP/OPDAT) has developed a proposal for a program to train federal police and prosecutors in the concept of organized crime task forces.
Description: The ICITAP/OPDAT assistance to the GOB will focus on: providing assistance to the GOB in developing policies, procedures and practices for the development and implementation of organized crime task force; providing an overview of the concept of organized crime task forces, their utility and their structure to senior Brazilian federal police, prosecutors and judges to ensure their understanding and support for this program; providing training and technical assistance to federal police and prosecutors from selected federal jurisdictions to establish task forces for investigating organized crime; and providing follow-up technical assistance to police and prosecutors as they apply the training and develop the task force concept.
Host Country and Other Donors: United Nations agencies and the European Union (EU) are currently involved in the administration of justice area in Brazil.
Beneficiaries: Administration of Justice plays a fundamental role in all aspects of USAID's democracy goal. Over 120 police investigators and prosecutors will benefit from specialized training. USAID supported actions benefit Brazilian society at large by working in the area of justice, in order to strengthen respect for human rights and the democracy process.
Principal Contractor: USAID implements activities through a interagencies agreement with the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program - ICITAP and The Office of Professional Development and Training - OPDAT. of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Major Results Indicators: Baseline Target
Number of police & prosecutors trained. 1996 - 0 1998 - 120
Number of task forces created. 1996 - 0 1998 - 06
Number of task forces operational. 1996 - 0 1998 - 04
Number of task forces using new
organized crime fighting techniques. 1996 - 0 1998 - 04
Number of organized crime cases
addressed by task forces. 1996 - 0 1998 - TBD
Number of organized crime cases
solved by task forces. 1996 - 0 1998 - TBD
ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: BRAZIL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased Environmentally Sound Energy Production Land Use 512-SP03
STATUS: Continuing
PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $750,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 1999
Purpose: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from wasteful energy use through strengthening in-country capability for investment promotion in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Background: In September 1995, as a result of agreements signed at the Summit of the Americas, USAID launched a comprehensive Brazil Energy Program (BEP). The Environmental Initiative for the Americas (EIA) funded US$3.3. million in activities under BEP in FY 1995 over a two-year period. In FY 1996 the USAID environmental program funded part of the program and will provide funds to BEP through 1999 as these activities complement the Mission's environmental strategic objective by addressing the emission of greenhouse gases from the power sector. The Brazil energy program includes activities in renewable energy, energy efficiency, private sector participation, and energy sector regulatory reform.
USAID Role and Achievements to Date: A Renewable Energy Project Support Office (REPSO) opened in Brazil during early 1996 in Salvador, Bahia as part of the overall goal of BEP. The REPSO, staffed by Winrock International, works with cooperatives, NGOs, and private companies to provide technical and financial assistance necessary to help identify and develop renewable energy projects. Winrock International prepared an initial preparatory study as groundwork for a possible World Bank/Global Environment Facility (GEF) project in Brazil. The proposed project is comprised of a technical assistance program to assist State governments in the Northeast with restructuring and privatization of the electrical energy sector coupled with the supply of rural energy by means of using renewable energy. Winrock's report provides an overview of renewable and rural energy projects in the Northeast of Brazil. The results of this report, a World Bank Idea Paper, and an upcoming identification mission will be the basis for a formal project concept paper.
USAID is currently assisting the GOB with the design of a request for large World Bank energy efficiency loan to Brazil, which is expected to direct $160 million toward utility conservation programs (the bulk of the funds), non-utility programs, and national programs. Funds will also go toward technical assistance for efficiency program design and management and power sector regulation formulation for Brazil. Brazil is expected to have considerable economic growth in the next few years, resulting in increased demand for energy throughout the country. USAID and the World Bank are increasing activity in the energy sector and assist regulatory reform as well as policy and planning advances in order to meet Brazil's future needs.
As part of a comprehensive energy training program, USAID is building capacity among Brazilian energy professionals and high-level decision makers in key aspects of private power, efficiency, and renewable energy. USAID completed a draft training needs assessment for the Brazilian power sector during November 1995, and is using the assessment to prioritize training in resource assessment, renewable energy systems design and installation, integrated resources planning, demand-side management, etc.
Description: USAID focuses its energy activities in Brazil in the following areas: (1) promoting policy changes that result in increased participation of the private sector in the electricity subsector; (2) promoting the use of commercially proven renewable energy technologies; (3) promoting the adoption of energy efficiency measures; and (4) training individuals in sustainable energy production and use and to foster, develop, and strengthen in-country capacity and institutions in order to ensure the sustainability of USAID's efforts.
Host Country and Other Donors: Activities in Brazil are cooperative efforts of USAID/Brasilia, USAID's Office of Energy, Environment and Technology (EET) in Washington, the Government of Brazil, and many NGOs and private organizations. USAID also provides assistance to and leverages funds from the WorldBank and Interamerican Development Bank, which are also active in Brazil's energy sector.
Beneficiaries: Electric energy consumers in Brazil both in grid connected and off-grid locations.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements activities through U.S. contractors, including Winrock International, Hagler Bailly Consulting , International Education (IIE), U.S. Energy Association (USEA), U.S. Export Council for Renewable Energy (US/ECRE).
Major Results Indicators:
Baseline Target
New capacity installed and operating, on and off
the electric grid, which is powered by renewable
energy or other clean energy technology. 1995 - TBD 1999 - TBD
Electric power and energy saved, attributable to
energy efficiency programs which USAID has
created or influenced. 1995 - TBD 1999 - TBD
Number of households or firms using renewable
energy, energy efficiency, or other clean energy
system. 1995 - TBD 1999 - TBD
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