ASPIRE evaluates both the political and operational aspects of national social protection systems. In Brazil, it will be applied in semi-arid territories.
Blog do IFZ | 02/06/2025
Brasília/London, 2 June 2025 | The Instituto Fome Zero (IFZ) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) have announced a strategic partnership aimed at promoting anticipatory and climate-responsive social protection in Brazil. The collaboration involves adapting and implementing the Anticipatory Social Protection Index for Resilience (ASPIRE) — an innovative diagnostic tool developed by IIED to assess and enhance a country’s capacity to protect vulnerable populations before climate shocks occur.
Brazil’s well-established experience in social protection policies, combined with its increasing exposure to extreme events such as droughts and floods, makes the country a key candidate for the application of the ASPIRE methodology. The partnership will focus on analysing public policies, conducting territorial diagnostics, engaging strategic stakeholders, and implementing capacity-building measures to integrate climate risk into existing social protection systems.
“We are very pleased with this partnership with IIED,” said José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Instituto Fome Zero and former Director-General of the FAO. “Brazil is globally recognised for its advances in social protection and food security, but the climate crisis demands that we rethink these systems. With ASPIRE, we want to demonstrate that it is both possible — and essential — to act before disasters strike. It’s about dignity, prevention, and justice.”
Initially tested in Senegal, the ASPIRE tool assesses both the political and operational dimensions of national social protection systems, identifying gaps and proposing concrete solutions. In Brazil, it will be applied in historically vulnerable semi-arid regions affected by climate and socio-economic pressures.
“Our collaboration with IFZ represents a unique opportunity to reinforce Brazil’s legacy in social protection while simultaneously advancing a new generation of climate-resilient strategies,” said Ritu Bharadwaj, Director of Climate Resilience, Finance, and Loss and Damage at IIED. “As the impacts of climate change intensify, it becomes increasingly urgent for governments to adopt anticipatory approaches. IFZ provides the legitimacy, expertise, and networks needed to bring about this transformation in Brazil and across Latin America.”
The initiative is supported by the UK-based organisation Comic Relief, through its Climate Justice programme, and aligns with Brazil’s leadership role in the G20 and COP30, which will be held in Belém, in the Amazon region. As part of the partnership, IFZ will convene high-level policy dialogues, coordinate with ministries, civil society, and the insurance sector, and collaborate on designing and delivering the first ASPIRE pilot in Brazil.
By combining global insight with local expertise, this partnership seeks to position Brazil as a global reference in climate-responsive social protection — inspiring other countries to follow suit.
