Tendência temporal da desnutrição em crianças menores de cinco anos assistidas pelo Programa Bolsa Família

Abstract

Based on the influence of social vulnerability on health and nutrition status and the response caused by the political and economic structure in this condition, this dissertation discusses this scenario as a public health problem of multifactorial etiology that affects especially people in vulnerable situations. The literature review chapter addresses the impacts of malnutrition on child growth and development, pointing to its determinants, emphasizing the underlying determinants, considering these as the main factors listed in the literature and accounting for two-thirds of the Brazilian progress in addressing this problem. In this context, it is important to highlight the approximation of the State to the public in vulnerable situations through conditional cash transfer programs, highlighting the Bolsa Família Program (BFP), since besides providing an income supplement, its conditionalities allow a more accurate surveillance and consequently a better assistance to this public in overcoming their problems. Finally, the review chapter demonstrates how the Brazilian State's choice for austerity policies puts these advances at risk. The scientific article analyzed the temporal trend of malnutrition in children under 5 years old assisted by the BFP, exploring regional inequalities from the grouping of the federative units according to the Social Vulnerability Index. In addition, we sought to determine the impact of the economic and political crises and of government adherence to fiscal austerity policies on this trend. The results found point to a reduction in this prevalence until the year 2013, followed by stabilization by the end of the period for preschoolers and an upward trend for infants, pointing to the need for constant monitoring of this condition and the reevaluation of the fiscal austerity policies adopted by the federal government, in addition to the deconstruction of economic and social structures that still produce inequality and misery.