The Criança Feliz Programme is transitioning from a temporary initiative to become a permanent component of Brazil’s Unified Social Assistance System.
For the first time in the region, five northeastern states come together around the restructuring of a service that supports pregnant women and children up to six years old living in situations of vulnerability. In Salvador, more than 1,200 social assistance professionals attended the first of five regional gatherings planned for 2026. This is a concrete step to consolidate the enduring early childhood service across the country.
On 27 April 2026, Salvador (BA) hosted the 1st Regional Gathering on Early Childhood in SUAS — the Home-Based Social Protection Service for Pregnant Women and Children Aged 0 to 6 (SPSBD-GC) — organized by the Ministry of Social Development and Social Assistance, Family and the Fight against Hunger (MDS) in partnership with the Government of Bahia and the Van Leer Foundation. The event brought together more than 1,200 professionals in person, alongside online participants, from five states in the region: Alagoas, Bahia, Paraíba, Pernambuco, and Sergipe.
The event marks a milestone in early childhood policy in Brazil. The Criança Feliz Programme is transitioning from a temporary initiative to become a permanent part of the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS). This will ensure a continuous service with predictable funding and clearly defined responsibilities between federal, state, and municipal governments. This is the first of five regional events planned for 2026, focused on aligning the professionals who will work directly with the restructuring of the service for pregnant women and children up to six years of age living in situations of vulnerability.
The presence of Bahia’s Lieutenant Governor, Geraldo Júnior, alongside representatives of the federal government and partners such as the Van Leer Foundation and the Fundação Maria Cecília Souto Vidigal, illustrates the federative nature of this commitment: the joint work across different levels of government and strategic partners around a shared agenda.
The Van Leer Foundation remains committed to strengthening the professionals and territories that give life to early childhood policy across the country. Gatherings like this reaffirm that transforming the reality of young children requires both the institutional embeddedness of policies and alliances capable of sustaining progress over time.
