Meeting Between the TCU and UNICEF Addresses the Multidimensional Poverty Index
The meeting focused on cooperation, the sharing of methodologies, and research, with the objective of promoting and protecting the rights of children and adolescents in Brazil
By Secom / Serint
On February 12, the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) held a technical meeting to advance preparations for the Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by the two institutions. The meeting also marked the beginning of discussions on implementing the work plan outlined in the agreement.
The goal is for the two organizations to combine their efforts, technical expertise, ideas, data, and partnerships to expand the Multidimensional Poverty Index project.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index is used to assess the effectiveness of public policies to combat poverty, considering multiple dimensions rather than income alone. Deprivation indicators are organized into dimensions and assigned specific weights for analysis. If the defined threshold is not met, the individual is considered deprived in that specific indicator. The combined result is then compared to the overall poverty threshold established under this approach. If this threshold is met, the individual is considered to be living in multidimensional poverty.
The meeting
The session was opened by TCU's head of the Department of International Relations, Hugo Freire, who highlighted the importance of the partnership with UNICEF. The meeting was then led by Jorge Mendes de Oliveira Castro Neto, head of the Court's Audit Department for Social Security, Welfare and Labour (AudBeneficios). He presented the methodology used to develop the index, the data sources consulted, the indicators with a direct impact on children, and the project's potential as an instrument for international cooperation and support for public policy formulation.
The UNICEF team was represented by the Head of Social Policy, Liliana Chopitea, the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation, Mariia Matsepa, and Social Policy Specialist Santiago Varella. These professionals have experience in social policy, planning, monitoring, and international cooperation.
Members of AudBeneficios also participated in the meeting: Danyele Sesconetto, Deputy Head of the Department; Giuseppe de Abreu Antonaci, Senior Specialist; Director Marcos Lima de Matos; Advisors Mariane Franca and Marcel Azevedo Coutinho; and Auditor Angelo Henrique Lopes. Representatives from the Department of International Relations were also present: Deputy Secretary Leonardo Naves, Advisor Luís Gustavo Azevedo, and staff member Raisa Ojala.
At the conclusion of the meeting, participants emphasized the importance of international cooperation between the TCU and UNICEF to strengthen technical capacity, exchange best practices, and develop shared indicators for multidimensional poverty analysis, with a focus on protecting the rights of children and adolescents. The initiative directly contributes to the consolidation of the Memorandum of Understanding, which is expected to be signed soon.