SBMT participates in the meeting of the Government Transition Health Work Group

Among the subjects on the agenda of the Health Transition Group with president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were Covid and vaccines

At the end of the meeting, President Lula acknowledged the learning he had and once again made clear his commitment to science and health

The president of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine (BSTM), Dr. Julio Croda, participated this Thursday morning (11/24) in a meeting with the Technical Health Group of the Government Transition Cabinet about the National Immunization Program (NIP) and the Covid-19 pandemic. Also in the meeting were the BSTMs vice-president, Dr. Guilherme Werneck, Dr. André Siqueira, Dr. Marcia Hueb, Dr. Alda Cruz and Dr. Pedro Vasconcelos, members of BSTMs current board. The meeting aimed to hear the invited specialists about their opinions and proposals on the theme. The meeting was attended by President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and several Brazilian medical and scientific societies, besides representatives from universities and Health Councils. Most of the members of the technical health transition group were also present, including four former Health Ministers.

Dr. Croda stressed the relevance of the debate. President Lula in his opening speech asked for our support with ideas, innovations, and suggestions. I heard several proposals on how Brazil can improve vaccination coverage rates and the president emphasized that increasing these rates is a priority. He also made clear the importance of improving access to health services for the unserved population, he said.

Among the contributions suggested in the meeting were the proposal of a large campaign against misinformation about vaccines; rethinking how community health agents (CHAs) can better help; the commitment to reduce the waiting time; mobilize schools and religions; expand the Center for Epidemiology and Health Surveillance (NEVS) throughout the country; invest in information systems, which currently has more than 30 million lost records; study the impact of Covid-19 in Brazilian families, the percentage of children who have been vaccinated, and a detailed study of preventable deaths; attest to the quality of medical schools and test the graduates; reestablish the technical team at the central level of the NIP and establish Technical Advisory Committees; inventory vaccine stocks and availability; start 2023 with the constitution of the Immunization Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC) and the Public Health Emergency Technical Advisory Committee to support the response to Covid-19, Monkeypox, polio and measles; resume the Ministry of Healths (MS) risk communication with technical meetings to recover the portfolios protagonism, resume the activation and management of the Emergency Operations Center to manage actions in a unified way within the Unified Health System (SUS) with internal and external sectors; resume the meetings of the Executive Interministerial Group; establish a strategy to deal with the Congenital Zika Syndrome; supply strategic inputs, tests for Covid-19, quantitative vaccines for Covid and other diseases; priority for the information system, which has poor computerization, instability, and low quality of equipment; use of technological infrastructure to develop tests, vaccines, and medications for tropical diseases; greater involvement of Primary Care and Emergency Network for etiological diagnosis; develop the autonomy of production and availability of vaccines; rethink the import of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and invest in local production of these products, and in the development of new diagnostic tests, drugs, and vaccines for tropical diseases in Brazil, among others.

Dr. Croda said he is honored to be part of the group and to have participated in this moment that marks better thoughts for Brazil’s future with initiatives that value health, science, research and development (R&D). The BSTM, who throughout its 60 years has maintained a technical-political commitment to support public and private agencies involved in the confrontation and control of tropical, infectious and parasitic diseases, in various fronts of support, respecting the SUS guidelines, promoting and encouraging studies and research related to Tropical Medicine, reaffirms its commitment to public health and the availability of the community of Tropicalists to act, alongside the Federal Government and the Ministry of Health, he adds. President Lula attended the entire meeting and, at the end, once again made clear his commitment to science and Brazilian health.