Challenges for Bioethics Education in Brazil: Adapting the Core Curriculum of UNESCO for Critical Practice

Abstract

Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and the fifth largest in the world in geographical area, with 8.5 million km2. Its population of almost 200 million inhabitants forms a rich mixture: while the south, the most developed region, has a population of predominantly European origin, the population in the north is mainly indigenous, while the other regions (southeast, center-west, and northeast) have a mixture consisting mostly of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians. Although Brazil’s economy is now the sixth biggest economy in the world, with a GDP of approximately $ 3 trillion, the country still presents great social disparities. At the same time Brazil can boast of a prominent position in the world in relation to, for example, biofuel production, deep-water oil extraction, and advanced agricultural technology. These achievements exist alongside high rates of illiteracy (10 %), infant mortality (16 deaths for every 1000 live births), and absolute poverty (8 %).