Minister of Health says project in Rio’s favelas will be a reference for creating national policy

During the presentation of the results of the Fiocruz Plan to Combat Covid-19 in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, said that the intention is to use the project as a reference for the creation of a national policy in areas of vulnerability .

The event took place this Friday (10), at the plenary of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj).

The minister highlighted that the Plan to Combat Covid implemented in partnership with social movements and educational institutions during the pandemic is an example that should be taken to the rest of the country. And she highlighted how this will be done going forward.

“The main guideline is to coordinate various actions that already exist in the peripheries and favelas. It is to establish public policies with social movements, as was done here in Rio de Janeiro, since we have different situations in Brazil”, highlighted the minister.

The plan implemented in Rio’s favelas featured a donation of BRL 20 million by Alerj at the end of 2020 through Law 8.972/20. In all, more than 100 projects focused on food security, mental health and education were implemented to contain the impacts of the health crisis.

According to Fiocruz, from August 2021 to December 2022, 200,000 people benefited from actions in 8 cities, 315 tons of food and more than 45,000 meals were distributed to families in poverty or extreme poverty.

According to the minister, one of the focuses of the folder is to intensify health actions in the favelas.

Nísia Trindade, who was president of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation between 2017 and 2022, also said that the Ministry of Health is working on a priority agenda that includes drawing up a program to reduce queues for exams and surgeries, and the resumption of vaccination in country, as vaccination coverage rates are below targets.