How Brazil Is Fixing Its Cities From the Inside Out with IPS Brasil

Brazil is ranked 52nd in the world for social progress but behind that number are 5,570 municipalities each fighting their own hidden crises. In this episode, Michael Green sits down with Melissa Wilm from IPS Brasil to uncover four on-the-ground stories of what happens when data meets real communities.From two rival Brazilian capitals turning competition into collaboration, to a small Amazon town where malnutrition had nothing to do with healthcare, to a health secretary who changed one thing and transformed his entire community, to a city that discovered its data had been wrong all along this is what evidence-based policymaking actually looks like in practice.The 2026 IPS Brasil Social Progress Index launches in May. Explore the full data tool at ipsbrazil.org.br00:00:00 Introduction — Brazil's place in global social progress00:01:11 Meet Melissa Wilm & IPS Brasil00:01:36 Brazil's social progress profile: success and unfulfilled potential00:02:33 How the index works across 5,570 municipalities00:05:15 Case Study 1: Curitiba vs Belo Horizonte — healthy competition00:10:15 Case Study 2: Capinzal do Norte — the food crisis hiding in the farmland00:13:19 Small town, global relevance — the ultra-processed food crisis00:15:47 Case Study 3: Água Azul do Norte — the clinic that changed everything00:17:46 Case Study 4: Abaetetuba — when the data was wrong all along00:20:59 The 2026 IPS Brasil index — what's coming in May00:21:30 Prediction00:24:10 Wrap-up & where to find IPS BrasilPlease follow and rate our show! Explore our work at https://www.socialprogress.org/Interested in the Social Progress Index? Learn more. Help us advance social progress across the world! Your donation makes a huge difference to us. Donate now! Want the full story? Subscribe to our newsletter!