Key facts

Progress towards Millennium Development Goals

During the past decade, there have been significant improvements showing that Brazil has already accomplished some targets and is close to achieving others.

However, important challenges still remain primarily due to the great levels of inequality and disparity in Brazilian society and among geographic regions.

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Brazil has already fulfilled its commitment to this Goal

MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education
Significant improvements have been registered in access to education, resulting in nearly universal coverage for elementary school. But the quality of basic education still lacks, since a large number of children finish grade 4 without adequate reading and writing skills.

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
women have reached a higher schooling level than men in Brazil. But discrimination is revealed in high levels of domestic violence, women’s participation in the labour market and their presence among political leaders. The indicators show a slight improvement but challenges still remain.

MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
Child mortality and infant mortality have been decreasing at an escalating pace. At the national level Brazil is likely to reach the Goal if the present trend continues.

MDG 5: Improve maternal health
Maternal mortality rate fell from 61.2 to 53.4 per 10,000 babies born between 1997 and 2005, which indicates that Brazil is on track to achieve this Goal. But a close monitoring of maternal mortality is still difficult because of poor information and underreporting of cases.

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
The overall HIV prevalence in Ghana is stabilising, with a relatively low rate compared to that of other sub-Saharan African countries. The median HIV prevalence among pregnant women in 2007 was 2.6%, showing a slight decrease from the 2006 rate of 3.2%. As for malaria, UNICEF estimates that the anti-malarial bed net campaign funded by DFID will save as many as 52,000 children’s lives by 2011.

MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Brazil has reduced CFC consumption and has achieved a relatively clean energy matrix drawing on renewable power from hydro and transport fuels based on ethanol from sugar cane. Expanding water supply indicates that Brazil will reach this indicator by 2015. However, improving urban and rural sanitation depends on the criterion used for its gauging and on the volume of investments.

Brazil has also started to tackle rates of deforestation, which are amongst the highest in the world and account for 50-70% of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions. Brazil has committed to ambitious deforestation targets but needs to maintain current efforts in order to meet these.

Data shows that progress has already been achieved in many Brazilian cities – the proportion of urban domiciles with adequate housing conditions increased from 49.4% in 1992 to 61.5% in 2005. To rapidly improve the situation, the Government has introduced this issue as a national priority in its recently approved Accelerating Growth Plan for the next four years.

MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Brazil has had a leading role in striving to achieve fairer trading rules and is making considerable efforts towards achieving universal access to AIDS medicines. The Government of Brazil has been very proactive and innovative in promoting global partnerships using South-South Cooperation as a vehicle. Therefore, Brazil is very likely to achieve this Goal.

• del.icio.usopens in a new window
• Diggopens in a new window
• facebookopens in a new window
• redditopens in a new window
• StumbleUponopens in a new window