Saneamento básico e pobreza no contexto pandêmico da Covid-19: a vulnerabilidade das crianças e adolescentes no Brasil

Abstract

This dissertation work aimed to bring up the theme of sanitation policy, and as a thematic focus, basic sanitation and its relationship with poverty, a situation that is shown to be aggravated by the pandemic situation experienced by the population with Covid-19 from 2020, making more evident the vulnerability of children and adolescents regarding access to water. The general objective was to analyze the vulnerability of children and adolescents in access to water arising from the implicit relationships between sanitation and poverty in the Covid-19 pandemic context. As specific objectives, it was first sought to apprehend the basic sanitation policy, contextualizing the data on social inequality to the lack of basic sanitation services in the period from 2015 to 2020, to explain the current situation of sanitation in Brazil. Then, investigate the relationship between poverty and socio-environmental policies, highlighting the most vulnerable segment, children, and adolescents, in the set of public services of water supply, sanitary sewage, solid waste management and rainwater drainage urban areas, as expressed by the perspective of sustainable development and by Federal Law n° 11.445/07. Finally, to present how serious the consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic have been for children and adolescents who do not have these facilities. Thus, the study starts from the following guiding question: “How does the weakening of the sanitation policy and the fight against poverty affect the right of children and adolescents to access water in the Covid-19 pandemic context?”. As methodological procedures, bibliographic and documentary research was used as it was shown to be the most appropriate method for analyzing the content of secondary sources. The motivation for carrying out the study arises from the contribution of the postgraduate academic training space to discuss, verify, and expand public policies such as sanitation and combating poverty. Through the study, it can be understood that the sanitation policy is still very neglected in Brazil, and the government's concerns have fallen on focused and segmented actions to fight poverty, few actions address what is essential for the full development of this part. population, given their constant dismantling and unfunding. The analysis between the period from 2015 to 2020 showed that the Legal Framework for Sanitation once again prioritized the relationship with investors in the sector and companies, before lowering rates for the poorest population and focusing on the planning needed. Another problem identified in the survey was the lack of updated indicators of something as urgent and necessary as transparency in resources allocated to sanitation. The lack of these services delays the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim at the well-being of current and future generations, although in fact, they are even worse with the presence of a pandemic that does not choose social class but imposes policies restrictive measures that violate the rights of children and adolescents, such as charging for constant sanitation without access to water.