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Brazil is a country of great contradictions. Its extensive territory, natural and human resources, that make it the 6th largest economy, according to the data from the International Comparison Program, which analyzes the economies of 146 countries. However, there is still many things to be done in the areas of public health, education and sanitation.

In 2000, the United Nations – UN, analyzed the world's major problems and established 8 Millennium Development Goals – MDG to be achieved by all the countries by 2015. The goals are: To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to achieve universal primary education, to promote gender equality and empowering women, to reduce child mortality rates, to improve maternal health, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, to ensure environmental sustainability, to develop a global partnership for development.

The Millennium Development Goals Report from 2013*, launched by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in Geneva, stated that Latin America is on track to achieve the goal of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. The proportion of unnourished people in the population decreased from 15% in 1990-1992 to 8% in 2010-2012. In the same periods, in sub-Saharan Africa, the reduction was from 32% to 27% and in the Southeast Asia, from 30% to 11%, the latter below the target set for 2015, which is 15%.

From this report is possible to know that the access to primary education was expanded in Latin America and the Caribbean with a net increase in the rate of school enrollments from 88%, in 1990, to 95%, in 2011. The number of children in school age who are out of school decreased from 7 to 3 millions and the region, achieving the equality in primary education between boys and girls. In the same periods, sub-Saharan Africa, the enrollments rates were from 53% to 77% and in Southeast Asia from 93% to 96%.

Latin America and the Caribbean are also close to achieving the goal of reducing the infant mortality rate, decreasing by 64% deaths in children below five years old between 1990 and 2011. In the sub-Saharan Africa and in the Southeast Asia the reduction was 39% and 47%, respectively.

The developing countries as a whole, are seeking to achieve the MDG established by the UN to be met by 2015. As shown in this report, several indicators were achieved to accomplish such Goals, including the reduction of the extreme poverty rate in Latin America by half. The proportion of people in the region that live with less than US$ 1.25 per day fell from 12%, in 1990, to 6%, in 2010. In sub-Saharan Africa, the reduction in the same periods were from 56% to 48% and in Southeast Asia, from 45% to 14%, again exceeding the goal for 2015, which is 21%.

Through its work, the Child’s Pastoral is contributing to Brazil and another 21 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America achieve the goals of reducing child and maternal mortality rate.

The UN report about the Millennium Development Goals

The children situation

Despite the improvements in the poverty, education and mortality rates, there are still many social inequalities that affect especially women and children. The Child’s Pastoral aims its work in children from 0 to 6 years old, preferentially the poorest in each state of Brazil and other 21 countries on three continents.
In all the regions of Brazil and the countries where the Child’s Pastoral acts there are problems like anemia, overweight and obesity, which are reaching children of all social classes. The institution has adapted its focus on malnutrition, for the current problem of obesity. Therefore, Child’s Pastoral guides the followed up families on the importance of care in the first 1,000 days of life, which can influence an individual's health forever. There are also guidance through the projects of Healthy Feeding and Nutritional Follow Up, the latter is being developed only in Brazil.

See in the table below the percentages of poor children in each Brazilian state:

Table with the percentage of poor children in each Brazilian state:

According to the UN data, today 48% of the inhabitants of Sub-Saharan Africa live on less than US$ 1.25 a day, as well as 14% of those living in Southeast Asia and 6% of Latin Americans. Child’s Pastoral expanded its methodology to poor countries of these regions.

Asia: East Timor and Philippines.

Africa: Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and, São Tomé and Príncipe.

Latin America and Caribbean: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The implementation of Child’s Pastoral is developed in each country according to a schedule of organization, called “Phases of Implantation”, divided as follow: Initial, Implantation, Expansion, Consolidation and Autonomy. There are goals to be achieved so the Child’s Pastoral in that country grows and reach more poor families.

Check the maps of Child’s Pastoral

TOTAL VARIATION OF CHILDREN UP TO 6 YEARS OLD ACCORDING TO BRAZILIAN CENSUS IBGE 2000-2010, BY DIOCESE

Source: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) – Demographic Census 2000 and 2010

**

Situation in 2010 compared to 2000:

34.49% to 22.2% (60 dioceses)
22.1% to 17.6% (59 dioceses)
17.5% to 12.2% (61 dioceses)
12.1% to 0.1% (61 dioceses)
0.0% to 28.3% (23 dioceses)

Total number of children up to 6 years old:

year 2000: 19,771,387
year 2010: 17,016,898
(decrease of 13.9%)

Child: Absolute Priority

The best experiences in the childhood and guarantee of their rights are related to actions that focus on the family and the community as a privileged space of child development. Therefore, the action of Child’s Pastoral in the communities promotes and strengthens the family and community ties putting the child as absolute priority, with care and the special attention needed.

Inspired by the concept “Child absolute priority/Child's Centrality” and the Aparecida Document, 2007, the PChild’s Pastoral participates, with the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) and World Vision in the project “Centralidad de la Niñez - Child's Centrality” that aims to create a network of constant interaction to promotion full life and full development of children in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The initiative also reinforces that childhood, as the first stage of life, it's a wonderful opportunity to deploy the foundations of faith.

Points of Attention

Throughout 30 years, the Child’s Pastoral has successfully developed its methodology of following up children and pregnant women in poor communities. The health basic actions, complemented by appropriate public policies and opportunities for the holistic development of the children, saved and continue saving thousands of lives.

During the Reflection and Evaluation Meetings, conducted monthly by the leaders of  the Child’s Pastoral, points of attention are raised and discussed, because they usually show situations involving children, like: lack of breastfeeding, low weight, mortality, obesity, malnutrition, diarrhea; and involving pregnant woman, like: few home visits, prenatal, lack of registration, lack of pregnant woman followed up, delivery problems.

In these situations the leaders need more support to find the main causes of the problems and also search for ways to solve them.

To help resolve some of these points of attention, there is a need for leaders to have more information about the first 1000 days of a child's life. Based on studies of the British epidemiologist David Barker, one can say that the suffering of the fetus during pregnancy and poor feeding in the first two years of life can bring serious consequences for the health in adulthood, with effects until the third generation. To suffer food shortages in the first thousand days, women can bequeath a tendency to certain diseases to their children and grandchildren, even if they have good nutrition in the future.

According to the Barker Theory, the adequate care in the initial phase of life can prevent the development of obesity, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases.

Permanent Motivation

When the volunteers join Child’s Pastoral, they are nourished of high expectations and positive feelings about children's situation. However, as they face the difficulties, they realize that what was done is insufficient to transform the social reality of exclusion that the children and their families live in. They also recognize that they are facing demands equipped with limited resources, that prevents the achievement of some desired results.

All this negatively influences the motivation to continue the work. Therefore, to perform this work the leaders need strong personal motivation, besides having a good relationship and support of other leaders and families, the Child’s Pastoral coordinations and different social forces.

Search for solutions

After evaluating the causes of the Points of Attention, the leaders can find solutions with the local forces or communicate the situation to an upper level. From these needs of the children in vulnerable situation, the Child’s Pastoral promotes networks to multiply the initiatives of care and protection of children and pregnant women in the family.
These actions need to be complemented with public health policies, access to healthy food, education, recreation, sports and culture, environmental and sanitation, social welfare, offered with quality and equity.