Instituto para o Desenvolvimento do Investimento Social (IDIS)

Early childhood development (ECD) as a key social determinant of health is challenged by economic poverty in Brazil, despite strong public policies in favour of ECD. According to this article, social inequality and inadequate children’s services are still major obstacles to the development of Brazilian children in their first years of life, but several municipal programmes show promise.

Legal policies, established between 1988 and 2007, have given the State responsibility for ECD through required provision of education of nursery- and pre-school-aged children that is integrated in the public school system. In 2007, with the aim of providing transparency to the origin and destination of public resources used in education, a specific fund was created, the Fund for the Development of Basic Education (FUNDEB), composed of federal, state, and municipal resources. These resources are primarily directed to the municipalities which are agents for the implementation of ECD policies. As stated here, implementation is critical for serving the seven million families, with 11.5 million children up to 6 years old, that have a monthly income less than half the minimum wage per capita, per month.

"[T]here remains a distance between the new legal framework and access to the services for ECD. Reasons range from the need to train professionals, to finding ways to involve parents and community leaders. A major challenge is encouraging municipal Secretariats of Education to organise budgets and structures, meet demands for expansion of care and improve the quality of services. Municipalities still need to develop their own policies on ECD."

Several examples of recent initiatives show that municipalities can involve families, local business people, and civil society to build appropriate infrastructure to renovate or construct buildings, invest in teaching materials and equipment, and develop human resources to set up sustainable local education systems. "In 2003 in Rio Grande do Sul, the southern state of Brazil, the PIM - Primeira Infância Melhor (Better Early Childhood) was created with the support of the state level government and external support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Its purpose is to guide family members to pay attention to the development of children from conception to six years old. In 2009, 224 municipalities are taking part. The programme is inspired by the Cuban programme “Educa a tu Hijo”, developed by the Centro de Referencia Latinoamericano para la Educación Preescolar - CELEP. One main characteristic is to use an integrated approach involving education, health, and social services departments at a municipal level. The programme now supports more than 47,000 families and more than 71,000 children. Almost 1,800 staff members make regular visits to families to teach them about ECD and help them meet their child’s developmental needs." As a result, local leaders became champions of ECD; new models of care became based on family visits; and new local resources were made available for ECD.

Programa Infancia Rural - PIRN (Rural Childhood Programme), developed by Instituto da Infancia (IFAN), based in Fortaleza in the northeast of Brazil, works in rural areas. It operates in 10 communities and values the role of playful activities as a way to stimulate and teach children between zero and six years. The programme follows an informal curriculum and is located in a local playing area for children. Over 550 family members are involved in the programme.

The article concludes that municipalities valuing ECD is becoming a "cultural, social, economic movement that will reshape the chances for a Brazilian child to become a full citizen."

Health Exchange e-newsletter, Summer 2009.