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The recent COVID-19 pandemic has led many countries to adopt emergency cash transfer policies as a way to contain the economic and humanitarian crisis. Such initiatives were developed in a context of exacerbated gender, race, ethnicity and class inequalities resulting from physical and social distancing measures. The article analyzes, by means of an exploratory study and the so-called theory-driven evaluation of the program, the theoretical premises of the Brazilian Income Transfer Program (2003), Brazilian Emergency Assistance (2020) and Brazil Assistance (2021) programs, and their corresponding implementation dynamics. As cash transfer programs are given centrality in the contemporary public agenda, the conclusion is that evaluating their limits and advances - as to theoretical conception and mechanisms triggered in each context - contributes to trace evidence about their effectiveness in addressing long-term inequalities and those inequalities that arise in health emergency contexts.

Based on different theoretical references (public health, program evaluation, and critical realism), the paper analyzes whether conditional cash transfers contribute to the reduction of monetary poverty and improved health care. It employs evaluative research material, consisting of a case study on the health conditionalities of the "Bolsa Família" Program (PBF) and its implementation by the Family Health Strategy in a primary care service (PHC service) located in a slum area in Rio de Janeiro. Experiences and perceptions of managers, health professionals, and beneficiary families were prioritized to understand the dynamics of the program. A predominant perception is that the PBF "benefits those who need it, but also those who do not need it". On the one hand, health care is recognized as limited, since households are vulnerable and with health problems resulting from this condition. On the other hand, having access to the Clinic is a crucial resource since the benefit is seen as of little value, which reinforces the idea of "aid". It concludes that the three domains of stratified reality contribute to understanding the scope of programs that address the imbrication of biological and social aspects in contexts marked by inequality and poverty.

This study aimed to analyze aspects of the implementation of the National Permanent Health Education Policy of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, based on the experiences of Public Health Schools. Five workshops were held in schools located in different regions of the country, taking into account an analysis of the conceptual and organizational basis of the policy. The methodological premises hinged on a reflexivist approach based on a dialogue between the research team and school participants, which built on the identification and meaning of the experiences of these institution in permanent health education (PHE). This study shows that the principles and values of the PHE were adequate in these schools and employed as pedagogical practice, not only in clearly educational situations, as formative processes, but also in the very institutional development management and actions, as well as in their political action. The important role of these schools as co-fosterers of PHE in the country and their capacity of mobilizing different social agents should be emphasized.