OBJECTIVES: between 1996 and 1998 three public policies in the area of maternal and child health were implemented: Program to Reduce Infant Mortality (PRIM), Community Solidarity Program (CSP) and Incentive to Combat Nutritional Deficiencies (ICND). The objective of this study was to compare the methodology used to select priorities and to choose municipalities for these three public policies. METHODS: the indexes and statistical indicators, as well as the databases from which they originated, the independent and dependent variables and statistical models employed were analyzed, based on the description available in official publications. The state of Bahia was chosen as an example, and the construction of the cartographic database was performed directly on the screen, with the software Epi-Map. RESULTS: one could observe that different parameters and distinct databases were used to construct each one of the indexes analyzed. As a final result, there was an agreement in only 28 of the 111 municipalities chosen by PRIM, the 96 selected by CSP and the 100 considered priorities by the ICND. CONCLUSIONS: in the case of these three social programs, implemented almost simultaneously in the state of Bahia, involved considerable investments of funds, focusing and targeting, which are key elements for the optimization of public spending in social policies, occurred in only less than 28% of the cases.
Health priorities; Nutrition Programmes; Nutrition; Infant Mortality; Nutrition Programmes and Policies
