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 Brazil may not achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals because parts of the country bordering the Amazon river are lagging behind, according to a Brazilian nongovernmental organization. The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are commitments by UN member states to improve socio-economic and environmental conditions in developing countries by 2015.
The report, published last month by the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (IMAZON), evaluated progress in states that make up the Amazon basin - Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins.
Brazil's ability to reach the MDGs depends heavily on improvements in these states.
"This region is different from the rest of Brazil. It fits the profile of an underdeveloped region," says IMAZON researcher Adalberto Veríssimo.
The researchers evaluated progress on 17 indicators relating to 7 of the 8 MDGs between 1990 and 2005. They found that Amazon states are behind the national average for most indicators, including education, poverty, sanitation, malaria cases, and child and maternal mortality.
Alfredo Homma, soil and crop scientist at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), says one reason for the region's slow progress is low investment in infrastructure, science and technology.
"While the other states advance, the gap becomes even larger," he said.
One of the MDGs is "to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS". The IMAZON report shows that HIV/AIDS incidence has increased from 1.2 to 12.4 cases per 100 thousand people over the period measured.
"The improvement of diagnostic services can partly explain such high variation. But the number has certainly increased," says IMAZON researcher Danielle Celentano.
Another goal is to ensure environmental sustainability. Although 42% of Amazonian territory is now protected - up from 8.5% in 1990 - deforestation in the Amazon increased from 10% of the total area to 17% by 2005.
"If there are no economic alternatives for the people, deforestation will continue as a matter of survival," says Homma.
Nearly all of Brazil's malaria cases are also in the Amazon region, and although the incidence has dropped from 3,000 to 2,000 per 100,000 people, these rates are still considered high.
The proportion of people living below poverty line - 45% of people live on less than US$ 2 a day - has stayed the same. But in absolute numbers, the number of people has increased from 7.4 million to 10.1 million.
The proportion with sustainable access to safe drinking water increased from 48% to 68%. At this pace, the authors calculate that this particular goal - to reduce the proportion without access to safe drinking water by half - will only be reached in 2018, three years after the target date.
At present, the only goal the researchers believe will be achieved by 2015 is to reduce the mortality rate of under-fives by two-thirds.
SciDev.Net
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Born and raised in Sao Paolo, Miele maintains a strong affinity with his culture.
"I grew up in a very poor neighborhood. There were homeless people on the streets. I didn't come from the elite. I think it's easy for someone who came from that sort of background to understand social problems," Miele told CNN.
Miele not only understands the social problems, he tries to alleviate them.
Rocinha, Latin America's largest "favela" or shantytown, is home to an estimated 200,000 people.
Many find it hard to get work and there are vast social problems: poverty, drugs crime and despair.
The Coopa-Roca sewing cooperative sees women involved in positive initiatives, creating traditional Brazilian techniques for clothing and artwork.
They are supported by end users like Miele.
At the heart of his work is empowering women -- from those who make his designs, to those who wear them.
"The first city that I exported my product to was to London. And then it was amazing to see that at the same time that I bring self-esteem to the people in Brazil," Miele says, adding that upmarket stores Harrods, Selfridges and Browns were among his first clients.
"I could reach these very rich clients. They wanted to buy these luxurious products then I start to understand that fashion is not something for elites, it can be like something that a bridge between elites and people who need jobs."
Miele says labor in China, for example, is a lot cheaper, but he is determined to give something back to his homeland.
"Those who work for me do not work in slave conditions. We give them dignity, we try to pay as much as we can. Although it is so expensive, we pay 10 or 20 times more then we do in China, but it is nice to know that all this work and the price of these dresses are supporting families so that's what makes the whole thing about fashion so beautiful."
His investment in the Rocinha community does not stop there.
Miele bought a block of land to house new production facilities and has paid for an architect and engineer to get the project moving.
Construction is yet to begin. A large funding drive is needed to raise the millions of dollars.
In his hometown of Sao Paolo, Miele supports another project at the local hospital.
He's funded the reconstruction of the children's emergency room, and from chemotherapy equipment to simple first-aid supplies, his support is generous and ongoing.
"I grew up in this neighborhood. When I was 10 years old my family moved to this neighborhood. This hospital is very important to the city because the Brazilian government does not take care of health. Education and health are the biggest problems for Brazil."
Miele found out about the project through a friend who is a doctor. He says he gets very emotional when he visits the hospital.
"He showed me this project ... I thought it was a good opportunity for me to return to society what society given me back. Every time I am here, strong emotions come to me."