The precarious livelihood in waste dumps: a report on food insecurity and hunger among recyclable waste collectors

Revista de Nutrição

Leonor Maria Pacheco Santos²  Fernando Ferreira Carneiro²  Maria Da Graça Luderitz Hoefel²  Wallace Dos Santos¹  Thaissa Quintas Nogueira¹ 

[1] ,Universidade de Brasília Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde Departamento de Saúde ColetivaBrasília DF ,Brasil

关键词: Environmental health;    Food security;    Government programs;    Occupational health;    Solid waste disposal;    Recyclable material collectors;    Saúde ambiental;    Segurança alimentar e nutricional;    Programas governamentais;    Saúde do Trabalhador;    Acondicionamento de resíduos sólidos;    Catadores;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1415-52732013000300007

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

OBJECTIVE: This study estimated the prevalence of food insecurity, social vulnerability factors, and health risks in recyclable material collectors who work at the dump. METHODS: A census was performed of the collectors' families living on five blocks near the dump of the Complementary Industry and Supply Sector, Brasília, Federal District, known as Cidade Estrutural. Sociodemographic data about sanitation, social programs, housing, labor, and food security were collected during home interviews. RESULTS: A total of 204 households composed of 835 residents and 286 collectors was studied. Ninety-three percent of the households had piped water, 65% had sanitation and almost all had electricity. But the presence of rats and cockroaches occurred in 90% of the households. A third of the workers reported being sick, but 44% of the families were not visited by community health workers because not all blocks were covered. Based on the food insecurity scale and the reporting of eating foods picked from the garbage by 55% of the respondents, a total of 75% of the households were exposed to food insecurity. According to the criteria of the Bolsa Família Program, 52% of the households were eligible, but not all were enrolled: the undercoverage was 44%. The need of other inclusion criteria for social programs, in addition to income, to identify populations surviving precariously in extreme poverty, hunger, and demeaning work is discussed. CONCLUSION: The social and environmental vulnerability of this population, subject to hunger and disease, is serious. The Brasil sem Miséria (Brazil without Poverty) program will not be capable of eliminating poverty while these subhuman conditions remain unresolved.

【 授权许可】

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