Growth acceleration program in the state of Bahia and its contribution to face the basic sanitation universalization challenges

Abstract The universalization of basic sanitation in Brazil is a challenge given deficits and inequality of access. Starting from the beginning of the 2000s, there was a change in the national scenario, with an increase in resources, improvements in institutional capabilities and a definition of legal conditions. However, there was no evaluation of the measures, principally of the Sanitation PAC. The present study analyzes this Program in Bahia in the light of the challenges of universalization. The methodology involved documentary research and analysis of secondary data. No clear logic was found regarding the determination of the investments of the Program, with prioritization of structural measures, especially in water and sewage, to the detriment of structuring initiatives, essential to the sustainability of the measures. The conception of the Program did not dialogue with the context of the deficits in the services. Despite the increase in investments, the logic of the program was sustained in ‘neo-developmentalism’, with the implementation of mega-developments and stimulation of public-private partnerships. The success of sanitation programs implies municipal involvement, in the universalization, integration, adoption of appropriate technology, intersectionality, and in social participation and oversight, principals which the program did not incorporate to any great extent. The development of democracy and the implementation of policies aligned with human and social rights will allow overcoming the deficit in services in Brazil.