Minister receives demonstrations of support at opening Health Conference

In the midst of political disputes over her position, the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, received different manifestations of support from professionals of the Unified Health System (SUS) and social movements. She was applauded during the opening of the 17th National Health Conference, this Sunday night (2), in Brasilia. The government denies that she intends to interfere with Health. The idea of ​​replacing the portfolio holder, however, is circulating amid negotiations for important votes in Congress, where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is working to expand his support base. Nísia has declared herself calm in relation to political pressures and defends her technical role at the head of Health, highlighting her curriculum as president of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and her career as a servant of the SUS. Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, during the opening, on June 26, of the International Seminar on Specialized Health Care, at the headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in Brasília. Photo: Marcelo Camargo / Agência Brasil During the opening ceremony of this year’s National Health Conference, the minister was interrupted by applause and shouts of support for her name. A group of SUS workers took the stage with a support banner for the minister. Nísia spoke quickly just to declare the work open. Ministers Sônia Guajajara, of Indigenous Peoples, and Marina Silva, of the Environment, attended the ceremony. On a trip to Bahia, Lula did not return to Brasília to participate in the event, as the conference organizers had hoped. He is heading to the state for the ceremony, this Monday (3), for the resumption of work on the section of a railroad that runs between the city of Ilhéus, on the coast, and Caetité (BA), in the hinterland. The governor of Bahia, Jerônimo Rodrigues, who was with the president in the morning, attended the ceremony. The 17th National Health Conference, which started this Sunday (2nd), in Brasília, has as its theme Guaranteeing Rights and Defending the SUS, Life and Democracy – Tomorrow will be another day. The event continues until next Wednesday (5), at the International Convention Center of Brazil (CICB). Programming The conference is organized by the National Health Council (CNS) and brings together more than 4 thousand delegates who were elected in regional conferences. They debate, in the federal capital, the ways of health in the country. According to the organizers, around 1,500 proposals and guidelines on the population’s access to health and the strengthening of the SUS should be discussed and deliberated on. The measures approved at the conference should serve as a subsidy for the preparation of the National Health Plan and the 2024-2027 Multi-Year Plan. The program includes a space for integrative and complementary practices in health and also a cultural space, where there will be presentations such as cordel literature, theater, poetry, soirée and performance in parade format. The first National Health Conference was held in 1941. Since then, it has become the main national space for discussing public policies and planning in the field of public health. In the 8th edition, for example, in 1985, the guidelines for the creation of the SUS were discussed and launched.

Agência Brasil