Brazil is advancing "hugely," compared with other Latin American countries, in measures for the social inclusion of people with special needs.
This opinion was expressed by the coordinator of the World Bank’s (IBRD) Team on Deficiency and Inclusive Development for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rosângela Berman Bieler, for whom the country, "without a doubt, has the best legislation, which leads the society to evolve en bloc."
At a meeting, Wednesday, November 9, organized by the World Bank and the non-governmental organization, Our School (Escola da Gente), representatives of civil society discussed the progress of activities based on the eight Goals of the Millennium, approved by the United Nations in 2000, to be met by 2015.
The goals are: the elimination of hunger and extreme poverty; quality basic education for all; gender equality and protection of women’s rights; reduction of infant mortality; improved health care for pregnant women; actions to combat AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; environmental sustainability; and a global partnership for development.
According to Bieler, this cooperation is already on the agenda established by the World Bank, which "began to perceive that it would not be possible to attain these goals if groups such as people with special needs were excluded from the system."
For the director of the IBRD in Brazil, John Briscoe, who also took part in the meeting, the institution "should help create opportunities for everyone to realize his or her potential – and this is one of the battlefronts in our war on poverty and the lack of opportunities."
The coordinator also recalled that "it is important to start now to erect a larger space for government policies, because that is the only way we shall succeed in bringing those who are outside the system into society."
The meeting also included a presentation of the Manual on Inclusive Development for the Media and Professionals in Communication.
The manual, which has already been launched in countries such as Argentina and Uruguay, as well as in some Brazilian cities, contains information and statistics on the relationship between poverty and deficiency.
Agência Brasil
