Daniela Arbex, Brazil

Daniela Arbex, a correspondent for the Tribuna de Minas newspaper in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, has reported on the hardships of minorities and the poor. Her stories have uncovered injustices, leading to numerous changes in laws and policies in Brazil.

In one series, she revealed that rape victims were denied medication to treat the AIDS virus. That prompted the government to change policies and release the drug.

Arbex also reported that 30 mentally ill patients had died of poor service at a psychiatric hospital. After her story ran, the local government issued new standards of care.

In yet another major story, she reported that drug traffickers had enrolled children in schools to sell narcotics. In response, education officials added drug-education programs to the curriculum.

Arbex has twice won the Esso, the Pulitzer Prize of Brazil. In 2009, from a field of 183 contenders from 19 countries, she won the IPYS Award for Best Investigative Journalism in Latin America.

See online media coverage of the 2010 ICFJ Awards Dinner below:
* Daniela Arbex - Journalism in the Americas did a Q&A with 2010 Knight International Award