Newly published research assesses the relationship between the Bolsa Família Program (BFP) and the reduction in mortality among children below five years. The research, which focused on the study period between 2004 to 2009, aimed to evaluate the effect of BFP on the mortality rates of children under five years of age in select municipalities. The study focused on poverty-related causes such as malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory infections, as well as some of the potential intermediate mechanisms, such as immunization, antenatal care and hospital admissions. Data from almost 3000 municipalities and advanced analytical methods were used.
According to the results of research published in The Lancet, Bolsa Familiahas reduced the overall mortality of children in counties where coverage was high by approximately 17% . This reduction was even greater when specific mortality causes as malnutrition (65%) and diarrhea (53%) were taken into consideration. The Family Health Program (FHP) also contributed to the reduction of mortality in children under five years of age through a synergistic effect with the BFP. The explanation for the effect of BFP is that the rising incomes made possible by the transfer of benefits allows enhanced access to food and other goods related to health. These factors help in reducing household poverty, improving living conditions, and eliminating difficulties in access to health. Combined, these factors all contribute to reducing deaths among children.
The world has witnessed the proliferation of conditional cash transfer programmes similar to BFP in various developing countries. Thus there exists a significant international interest in better understanding the various impacts of this policy on issues such as public health. The results of the Brazilian study demonstrate that a small improvement in income may have a significant positive impact on infant mortality. The discoveries made through this study contribute to the understanding of social determinants on health and will certainly stimulate the adoption of similar policies in countries with significant rates of infant mortality and other social problems associated with poverty.
The research was conducted by Davide Rasella, Master in Community Health and Doctor of Public Health (ISC-UFBa) as part of his doctoral program at ISC and with the collaboration of Rosana Aquino, MD, MPH in Community Health and a PhD in Health Public (ISC-UFBa) and researcher at the ISC-UFBa;Antonio Carlos Santos de Souza Teles, Doctor of Public Health (ISC-UFBa), assistant professor at the State University of Feira de Santana and researcher ISC-UFBa; Romulo Paes-Sousa , PhD in Environmental Epidemiology (University of London), Center Coordinator Rio + for Sustainable Development, a partnership between UNDP and the Brazilian government, and research associate at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. The team was led by Mauricio Lima Barreto, MD, MPH Community Health (UFBa), PhD in Epidemiology (University of London), Professor of Epidemiology Public Health Institute of the Federal University of Bahia, AI researcher of CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technology), and coordinator of inct-CITECS (multidisciplinary network of scientific research based in Bahia of international scope, focused on innovation, development and evaluation of health technologies) and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of Bahia.
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