An international delegation, made up of representatives from the governments of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, Timor-Leste, Portugal and Spain visits bodies from the Municipal Health Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro The objective is to promote an exchange of experiences and knowledge about preparedness and response to public health emergencies, with a focus on Primary Care, health system resilience and the use of technologies for monitoring and management. 
The visit was organized in partnership with Global Health Strategies, an initiative linked to the Gates Foundation that fosters international partnerships and collaborations to strengthen health systems in several countries. The meeting also had the support of the Ministry of Health and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).
“We know that the risk of health emergencies is not just local, it is global. Unfortunately, for these emergencies, there are no borders. So, the more countries are prepared to identify and respond, the better”, says the superintendent of Health Surveillance, Gislani Mateus.
This Thursday (9), the delegation was received at the Super Centro Carioca de Vaccination (SCCV) in Botafogo, in the south of Rio, where they learned about the technological initiatives used in public health to facilitate the transformation of data into real information and the structure of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), one of the largest and most complex in the world.
Technological innovation
The delegation also visited the facilities of the unit and the Clínica da Família Luiz de Moraes e Júnior, located in the south of the city, to learn about Primary Health Care services in practice. They saw the lines of care offered in the network and the Health Surveillance practices used in the municipality, such as the use of tools for monitoring vaccination coverage and maternal and child health.
“It is always important to exchange experiences and show a little of our work and our investment to improve the SUS. This shows that the city of Rio is a model to be exported. At the same time, it is important to receive contributions from other places, including possible partnerships”, stated the Superintendent of Primary Care, Larissa Terrezo.
The event also served to showcase the role of technological innovation in public health management, with the presentation of tools based on data and artificial intelligence, which have been fundamental for monitoring outbreaks and preventing health crises.
For this Friday (10), the delegation is scheduled to visit the Epidemiological Intelligence Center (CIE), of the Undersecretariat of Health Surveillance, which monitors the city’s epidemiological scenario and, when necessary, manages and coordinates rapid responses to public health emergencies.
“It is a great opportunity to learn from Brazil, especially the use of artificial intelligence in epidemiological surveillance, something that we intend to incorporate into our health systems,” said García Nazaré-Pembele, collaborator at the National Institute for Health Research (INIS) of Angola.
