Data from the third quarter of 2022, gathered in the most recent National Household Survey (PNAD), estimate that 18.6 million people comprise the disabled population in Brazil. Amongst several other aspects assessed, the survey shows that those Brazilians are less integrated to the labor market, with a rate of illiteracy reaching 19.5%. A great part of the group never completed basic education, 63.3% had no education whatsoever or never completed elementary school.

Finding solutions for the inequality in Brazil becomes even more difficult due to the lack of qualified information on the population. On that account, the Institute of Scientific and Technological Communication and Information on Health (Icict/Fiocruz), through its Center of Information, Public Policies and Social Inclusion (Nippis), runs a platform which gathers and makes trustworthy indicators available to monitor the disabled population’s conditions of life, well-being and human rights. The National Information System on Disabilities (Sisdef) is now a reference for researchers, professionals and public administrators, guiding actions and strategies in national level.

“The system presents indicators that subsidize public management, rationing resources, research and social movements, offering tools to strengthen the fight, qualify and appropriate that great historical accomplishment. There is no public policy without qualified information and, in the field of disabled people, Sisdef seeks to reduce that gap,” comments Cristina Rabelais, Icict/Fiocruz researcher and coordinator of the System.  

Diverse databases and varied themes
Sisdef now has over 100 indicators, structured as to favor intersectional perspectives. The platform works as follows: in an initial phase, called “management,” each database and auxiliary materials are received with their due safety protocols; then, they undergo a selection, and the indicators are structured; in the third phase, those indicators are indexed and inserted into panels. Finally, all that data are tested, presented visually and considering accessibility, of course.

In addition to making public policies for the disabled population available for assessment, the platform allows the development of unprecedented projects and initiatives promoting universal access to quality information. “Sisdef is a dynamic platform, that is under constant update, which uses official databases as sources to elaborate indicators. Then, it is possible to identify the policies and actions that can and must be done to improve the quality of life for that population,” says Cristina.

Information from the gov.com.br portal.