Impacto do programa bolsa família na mortalidade infantil do semiárido brasileiro

Abstract

In 2003, the federal government launched the Bolsa Família Program, a conditional income transfer to poor families that fufill certain conditions related to Education, Health, Nutrition, Social Assistance and Labor. More than half of the country's poor population live in the semi-arid region which is marked by larged social inequalities and high levels of infant mortality. The objective was to evaluate the impact of the Bolsa Família Program actions on infant mortality in the municipalities of the semi-arid region of Brazil in the period from 2004 to 2010. A longitudinal ecological study on fixed effects regression with panel data was undertaken using the microdata of the 1,133 municipalities of the Brazilian semi-arid region. The final regression model was able to explain the association between the dependent variable Infant Mortality Rate and the independent variable Coverage of the Bolsa Família Program, controlled by socioeconomic, demographic and health covariables. Government interventions (Family Allowance Program and Family Health Strategy), increased coverage of antenatal appointments and reduced fertility levels have significantly contributed to the reduction of infant mortality in the region. In order to maintain the reduction framework, it is necessary to reinforce measures such as: reducing the illiteracy rate of those people aged 15 or more, paying more attention to water supply and sanitation, and paying attention to the demands related to the urbanization rate increase. It was concluded that the Bolsa Família Program had a positive impact on the reduction of infant mortality levels, which was strengthened by the intervention of social and demographic factors.