Combating Poverty as a Main Challenge of Sustainable Development: The Case of Brazil’s Bolsa Família

Brazil’s conditional cash transfer Bolsa Família is one of the largest poverty reduction policies worldwide, providing cash transfers to poor households on the condition of fulfilment of a series of health and schooling requirements. Bolsa Família helps 13.8 million families or 25% of the total population. Since its launch in 2003 results are the following: poverty in Brazil has notably decreased; three million people left poverty and four million are no longer indigent; the Gini coefficient and Human Development Index has improved. Therefore, Brazil has implemented a policy in the realm of sustainable development strategies, combatting the most pressing and degrading condition of deprivation: poverty. As Bolsa Família’s impact became prominent due to international media and international organisations, 63 countries have sought Brazilian expertise on social policies. The aim of this essay is to assess if Bolsa Família is an effective mechanism for sustainable development, particularly poverty alleviation.