The Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, announced today (25) that she will intensify the work of the National Situation Room for Climate Emergencies in Health, in view of the current situation of droughts, fires and other occurrences generated by climate change. The Situation Room has existed since June and aims to plan, organize, coordinate and control the measures to be implemented in times of emergency.
Excess soot and smoke in the air, combined with dry weather, can cause discomfort to many people, especially children and the elderly. Experts have pointed out concern for the health of the population in view of the worsening drought scenarios.
According to the minister, based on data obtained by the Vigiar program (Environmental Health Surveillance and Air Quality), the Ministry of Health establishes partnerships with state and municipal health secretaries across the country.
Nísia highlighted that, although the recommendations of the Ministry of Health are uniform, there is a need to observe the specificities of each region. “There is a capillarity in the way of acting that needs to be done together with the teams of the state and municipalities”, she said, during an interview on the program Good morning, minister..
The action of the National SUS Force, ready to support the states and municipalities affected by the fires, can also be intensified, mainly in reinforcing the Family Health program teams and in the basic health units.
Yanomami
During interview, Nísia also highlighted the increase in the number of doctors in the Yanomani territory, with the hiring of 400 health professionals, such as gynecologists, obstetricians, family doctors, pediatricians, infectious disease specialists, first aid specialists and sanitation specialists. The investment was made jointly by the Secretariat of Indigenous Health (Sesai) and the Brazilian Agency for Support to the Management of the Unified Health System (AgSus).
Arboviruses
The minister also mentioned the launch of the action plan to reduce the impacts of arboviruses. According to her, dengue fever has expanded its presence to around 200 countries. “Uruguay, for example, has just had its first dengue epidemic,” she said. The ministry’s intention is, in addition to traditional strategies to combat the mosquito, Aedes Aegypti (transmitter of the disease), use new technologies based on scientific studies, such as the so-called Wolbachia Method, conducted by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).
This is a method of releasing mosquitoes with bacteria called Wolbachia, which prevents the development of dengue, zika, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses in the insects’ organisms, in order to inhibit contagion in humans from their bites.
Ultra-processed foods
The minister also commented that she has been discussing aspects of tax reform with the Minister of Economy, Fernando Haddad, emphasizing the need to increase the incidence of taxes on ultra-processed products and cigarettes, which are harmful to the health of the population.
The program Good morning, Minister. is a production of the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom) and the Brazilian Communications Company (EBC)shown live and in the format of a press conference, with the participation of reporters from different parts of the country.
