São Paulo – Representatives of the government of Brazil are going to present to a commission of the Arab League, on Friday (13) and Saturday (14), in Brazilian capital Brasília, social development projects that have been developed in Brazil. The results of the meeting will be presented at a meeting of South American and Arab ministers in the area, at a later date, yet to be defined.
On the Brazilian side, the presentations will be made by the ministries of Foreign Relations, Social Development and Social Security and by the National Education Development Fund (FNDE).
FNDE should present the National School Feeding Programme (PNAE). Established in 1955, it guarantees the feeding of state-run school students through the transfer of funds to cities. In 2011, the PNAE budget was 3.1 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 1.7 billion). According to a law passed in 2009, 30% of the value must be turned to the purchase of products originating from family farming.
The international advisor at the PNAE, Eduardo Manyari, stated that this project has been adopted in other countries and adapted to their local realities. “If an Arab country finds it may develop the work, it should show interest to the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (an organisation connected to the Foreign Office), we present our knowledge and the problems that may arise in implementation of the program, we then go on a mission to the country interested and exchange information with local technicians,” said Manyari. He added that Peru, Bolivia and Mozambique have adopted the PNAE.
The Ministry of Social Security should show actions for technical cooperation in the social security area that Brazil develops in Paraguay, Mozambique and East Timor. According to the ministry, Brazil helped modernize the local systems.
The MDS should present the Brazilian experience in programs for income transfer and in the evaluation of social policies, apart from programs like Brazil free from Poverty, which aims to increase the access of lower-income populations to basic services, qualify labour in cities and increase productivity in the country.
According to the head of the international advisory at the Ministry of Social Development, Aline Teixeira Soares, apart from this meeting, the representatives of countries interested in Brazilian cooperation in social programs will participate in a seminar about Brazilian projects. It should take place over four days starting on Tuesday (17) at the National Public Administration School, in Brasília.
Among the Arab nations, those participating include Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Palestine. According to Aline, the main interest of these nations is in development of a single record for social programs, development of projects for hunger and poverty alleviation and learning about the Zero Hunger programme. “At this seminar, those interested will learn about some experiences. It will not only be theoretical,” said Aline.
*Translated by Mark Ament
