The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil

de Souza, L. E. P. F., de Barros, R. D., Barreto, M. L., Katikireddi, S. V. , Hone, T. V., de Sousa, R. P., Leyland, A. , Rasella, D., Millett, C. J. and Pescarini, J. (2019) The potential impact of austerity on attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil. BMJ Global Health, 4, e001661. (doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001661) (PMID:31565412) (PMCID:PMC6747892)

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Abstract

In the recent decades, Brazil has outperformed comparable countries in its progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Many of these improvements have been driven by investments in health and social policies. In this article, we aim to identify potential impacts of austerity policies in Brazil on the chances of achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and its consequences for population health. Austerity’s anticipated impacts are assessed by analysing the change in federal spending on different budget programmes from 2014 to 2017. We collected budget data made publicly available by the Senate. Among the selected 19 programmes, only 4 had their committed budgets increased, in real terms, between 2014 and 2017. The total amount of extra money committed to these four programmes in 2017, above that committed in 2014, was small (BR$9.7 billion). Of the 15 programmes that had budget cuts in the period from 2014 to 2017, the total decrease amounted to BR$60.2 billion (US$15.3 billion). In addition to the overall large budget reduction, it is noteworthy that the largest proportional reductions were in programmes targeted at more vulnerable populations. In conclusion, it seems clear that the current austerity policies in Brazil will probably damage the population’s health and increase inequities, and that the possibility of meeting SDG targets is lower in 2018 than it was in 2015.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Katikireddi, Professor Vittal and Leyland, Professor Alastair
Authors: de Souza, L. E. P. F., de Barros, R. D., Barreto, M. L., Katikireddi, S. V., Hone, T. V., de Sousa, R. P., Leyland, A., Rasella, D., Millett, C. J., and Pescarini, J.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
Journal Name:BMJ Global Health
Publisher:BMJ Publishing Group
ISSN:2059-7908
ISSN (Online):2059-7908
Published Online:06 September 2019
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2019 Authors (or their employers)
First Published:First published in BMJ Global Health 4:e001661
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
727651Measuring and Analysing Socioeconomic Inequalities in HealthAlastair LeylandMedical Research Council (MRC)MC_UU_12017/13HW - MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit
727671Informing Healthy Public PolicyPeter CraigMedical Research Council (MRC)MC_UU_12017/15HW - MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit