Had a great talk about Bolsa Familia: here’s the call for the seminar:

Nadejda Marques, PhD

“Bolsa-Familía, healthy familia? Bridging the gap in health outcomes by linking school-based health care to conditional cash-transfer programs in Brazil”

With approximately 50 million beneficiaries, Brazilian Bolsa Familia has been considered one of the main programs to combat poverty in the world. The program seeks to reduce income inequality and expand access to education by providing a minimum level of income (cash transfers) to the poor, those with monthly per capita income of up to R$140 (US$35) with children of 0 to 17 years. Studies have demonstrated that the program has had a significant role in reducing extreme poverty in Brazil and reducing income inequality. The program has also succeeded in increasing school enrollment and attendance rates. However, it is not clear that the program has had significant impact in improving children’s health. What lessons does the Bolsa Família offer and how can it evolve to respond to challenges and health demands of the poor? 

Nadejda Marques is a research coordinator with the School Health Evaluation Research Project and a specialized researcher for General Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. She holds a PhD in human rights and development and has worked on issues of human rights and the right to health for over a decade. In 2011, she co‐authored the book “The Cost of Inaction” on the impact of HIV/AIDS in children with the François-Bagnoud Xavier Center for Health and Human Rights based in Harvard School of Public Health.