Brazil to Bolster Early-Childhood Education with IDB Support

WASHINGTON — The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $99.2 million loan to improve the coverage and quality of early-childhood education in Joinville, a municipality in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

The loan is the eleventh operation of a program to modernize social spending in Brazil, which is financed by a conditional credit line for investment projects. The overall objective of the program, which was approved in 2020, is to strengthen the country's institutional capacity to plan and manage social spending to better serve citizens.

The loan funds a program to expand full-day early-childhood education, with resilient and universally accessible infrastructure. It will also use innovation and digital transformation to enhance teaching practices and boost learning outcomes. Additionally, it will broaden access to educational services for migrant children and build the educational system’s planning and management capacity.

Joinville, an economic hub of southern Brazil, is the largest city in the state of Santa Catarina. The city has the highest human-development index score in the state, thanks to strong industrialization and a diverse economy. However, it faces the challenge of ensuring high-quality education for the most vulnerable communities.

The program will directly benefit 19,500 new students, 70% of whom come from Joinville’s most disadvantaged communities. It will also support approximately 4,000 migrant children and improve internet access for an additional 30,000.

The IDB loan has a 23.5-year repayment term and a 7-year grace period. The operation will be paired with a $4 million grant from the IDB.