The vice-president of the World Bank, Vinod Thomas, said yesterday that the Bank has US$ 1.5 billion available this year for Brazil and that, through partnerships with foundations and civil society organizations, this amount could be augmented 50%.
Thomas participated in the second day of debates of the Dialogue of Foundations, Social Networks, the Brazilian Government, and the World Bank, sponsored by the Foundations Unit of the World Bank and the International Committee of the European Foundation Centre.
The event, in Brasília, gathered representatives of international agencies and civil society organizations to discuss the possibility of creating partnerships to undertake social actions.
In Thomas’s opinion, the encounter provided a meaningful opportunity to discuss partnerships between civil society organizations and institutions like the World Bank.
Thomas said that 2005 could be a very important year for Brazil’s economic stability, with the renewal of sustainable growth into the future. In his view, this will attract many foreign investments.
Last year, the World Bank sponsored in Brazil a workshop entitled “Alliances for Inclusive Development.” The idea was to debate action plans and policies for the inclusion of the elderly, Negroes, immigrants, Indians, the poor and those with special needs in the country.
According to a World Bank specialist on the subject, Rosângela Berman Bieler, the goal is public policy that is universal while respecting diversity.
According to World Bank data, there are more people with special needs among the poor. Around 17% of the poor have some form of special need.
The World Bank also reports that worldwide there are 600 million people with special needs, with 400 million of them in the developing world. In Latin America and the Caribbean there are 79 million of them.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil