Minister of Health wants dialogue with society and policies with a scientific basis – 01/18/2023 – Power

On the day she turned 65, the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, reinforced that health management will be guided by dialogue with society in the search for solutions to the most pressing issues, especially the most needy, always with a scientific basis in building the public health policy.

The minister spoke about priorities and emergency actions in an interview with Roberto D’Avila, on GloboNews, on Monday (17). She said that President Lula’s invitation to lead the portfolio followed the government’s proposal for the renewal of ministries, favoring women.

Sensitivity and concern for the poorest were the requirements cited by Lula for the choice, according to Nísia.

In just over two weeks at the head of the Ministry of Health, what has most concerned the minister is the breakdown of relations with society and the lack of information about the operational situation, such as stocks of vaccines, medicines, the tools necessary for the immediate work.

“There is a vacuum in the Ministry of Health and also in other areas. There is a lot of disruption in programs, such as Mais Médicos, for vaccination, in the mental health area. of medicines. And we will move forward as we have access to this data”.

The minister highlighted that she is preparing a national health plan, which will have detailed goals next week, including the restructured National Immunization Program, with a focus on updating vaccination for both children and the adult population.

“We are restructuring the National Vaccination Program with the support of a Technical Advisory Committee. Scientific discussion is fundamental for us to have the best available evidence”, said the minister.

Queues at SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde) are the focus of an emergency plan to accelerate the performance of elective surgeries using the structure of the network, but also with support from the private sector and philanthropic institutions. The objective is to intensify procedures throughout the country, with different actions according to the needs of each region, explained Nísia.

PPPs and academic community

PPPs (public-private partnerships) and the knowledge developed at universities will also be encouraged to improve productive capacity in the field of health and reduce international technological dependence in the development of vaccines and drugs.

The minister stressed that in all areas, especially women’s health, comprehensive care for the health of the black population, indigenous peoples, there will be joint work with other ministries to identify the main grievances of these groups and act on the focus of the problems.

Nísia Trindade also spoke of the need to look at ongoing experiences in other countries and advance in the reality of Brazilian health. One of the examples mentioned is the use of medicinal Cannabis – already adopted in several countries – for the treatment of epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and congenital syndromes in children, which improve the quality of life with an impact especially for mothers.