The field hospital that the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) set up in Boa Vista to receive the Yanomami indigenous people has already treated more than 300 people since last week, “most of them children”. The balance sheet was presented this Wednesday (1st) by Major Vandesteen, commander of the unit. Set up on the grounds of the Casa de Saúde Indígena (Casai), the hospital is equipped with a structure to carry out laboratory tests, ultrasounds and has stabilization beds for more serious patients. “There are many cases of pneumonia, intestinal parasitosis, malaria and many skin diseases,” said Major Vandesteen. The Agência Brasil report accompanied the interview at the entrance to the field hospital and recorded the presence of children in recovery, some with signs of low weight and skin disease. Access to the internal area is restricted. The unit serves as a place of passage for indigenous people who are discharged from more complex care and need to make a transition, or in less serious cases. “It is not a long-stay hospital, which has the purpose of hospitalization. We assist the patient, stabilize, in serious cases, and transfer. We have rest beds, we are able to accompany these patients so that they can return safely to their home”, explained the commander of the unit. Specialties include orthopedics, pediatrics, neonatology, general practice, pathology, and gynecology. In all, there are 33 health professionals. There is no deadline for closing activities at the field hospital. The most serious cases among children are referred to the Hospital da Criança Santo Antônio (HCSA), in Boa Vista, maintained by the city hall of the capital of Roraima. According to the most recent balance, released on Tuesday (31), there are 54 indigenous people interned in the unit. Of these, 44 are Yanomami children and eight are in the intensive care unit (ICU0. The main causes of hospitalizations are acute diarrheal disease, acute gastroenterocolitis, malnutrition, severe malnutrition, pneumonia, snakebite and malaria. in Roraima, which serves children from 29 days old to 12 years, 11 months and 29 days old. In addition to patients from across the state, the hospital receives patients from Guyana and Venezuela. Throughout 2022, there were 703 hospitalizations of Yanomami indigenous people at the HCSA. Of these, 58 were due to malnutrition. Adult patients who need more health support are referred to the General Hospital of Roraima (HGR), also in the capital, which is the largest hospital unit in the state. According to According to the Roraima Health Secretariat, which is responsible for the hospital, there are 25 indigenous people hospitalized at the HGR, eight of them Yanomami. Only one patient is in the ICU. The data are from the balance of Monday (30). hernia treatment, among others. At the Hospital Materno-Infantil Nossa Senhora de Nazareth, there are 15 Yanomami undergoing medical treatment, of which seven are newborn babies, five are adult mothers and one is a teenager. Illnesses include severe pneumonia, covid-19, malnutrition and premature birth. Humanitarian crisis Although indigenous entities and bodies such as the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) have already denounced the lack of assistance to communities in the Yanomami Indigenous Land for a long time, new images of malnourished children and adults, as well as health units full of people with malaria and other diseases, have drawn public attention in recent weeks and motivated the federal government to implement emergency measures to help the Yanomami. Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Health sent technical teams to Roraima to carry out a diagnosis of the health situation of the approximately 30,400 indigenous inhabitants of the Yanomami TI. At the time, the initiative was announced as the first step by the federal government to outline, in partnership with civil society institutions, an “unprecedented strategy by the federal government to restore access” of the Yanomami to “quality health”. When visiting the Casa de Saúde Indígena (Casai) in Boa Vista, where the Yanomami who need hospital care are taken, and the base centers in Surucucu and Xitei, inside the indigenous reserve, the technicians came across children and elderly people with serious health problems, such as severe malnutrition, cases of malaria, acute respiratory infection and other problems. Emergency measures Five days after the teams began work in loco, the ministry declared a Public Health Emergency of National Importance and created the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (COE-Y), responsible for coordinating the measures to be implemented, including the distribution of resources for the restoration of services and the articulation with state and municipal managers of the Unified Health System (SUS). On the last 21st, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and several members of the federal government, such as the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, and of Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara, went to Boa Vista, where they visited Casai. The president promised to involve several ministries to overcome the serious health crisis and, on the same day, FAB planes transported around 1.26 tons of food to be distributed to the Yanomami communities. In the last four years, at least 570 children have died from malnutrition and treatable diseases such as malaria. On the last 24th, professionals from the National Force of SUS began to reinforce the service at Casai in Boa Vista. On the 25th, at the request of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Federal Police launched an investigation to investigate the possible practice of genocide, failure to provide assistance and environmental crimes, in addition to other illegal acts against the Yanomami.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©