The Fundraising Office of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), dedicated to building bridges between the projects developed by the institution with different actors in society that can become investment partners, has mobilized since its creation, in 2008, R$ 800 million to make about 120 projects feasible. The office was born from a thesis on alternative sustainability mechanisms within a public science and technology institution, explained this Wednesday (19) to Agência Brasil the general manager of the Fundraising Office, Luis Donadio. “Over time, these partnerships gained different contours”. In the beginning, the office worked more with actions focused on scientific culture and social projects. “Later, we started to bring education projects, projects more in the technological area, to develop new technologies to serve the Unified Health System (SUS)”, explains Donadio. During the covid-19 pandemic, the United against Covid program was created, which mobilized a volume of resources in the order of BRL 550 million, which enabled initiatives such as the construction of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production plant, a fundamental element in the formulation of a drug; implementation of an outpatient boat and five oxygen plants in the Amazon Region; implementation of two test processing centers, one in Rio de Janeiro and the other in the city of Euzébio (CE). “Various projects and programs that left legacies for SUS and this also, naturally, brought another level to the relationship of the public-private partnership and the perception of society in its broader concept, involving companies, foundations, individuals, that it is possible to support important projects that are being carried out by public institutions, such as Fiocruz itself, universities and other institutes of science and technology in projects that, if supported, will have more strength”. Access Fiocruz’s central role is to strengthen the SUS, explained Luis Donadio. The general manager stated that Fiocruz is an institution of science and technology in health, “but our understanding of health promotion at the Foundation is based on the social determinants of health, following the concept of the World Health Organization (WHO) that understands health promotion as access to several factors, including culture, education, communication”. Therefore, Fiocruz ends up having a very diversified performance when it comes to the programs that the institution develops. The central line is health, but Fiocruz develops scientific culture actions, such as the Museum of Life, which offers theater shows and audiovisual workshops. “We understand that the promotion of scientific culture is access to health”. Donadio recalled that Fiocruz is the non-university institution that trains the most staff in the health area. “Many people form there. We have strong educational programs”. The Fundraising Office is celebrating 47 partnerships signed in 2022 that are making 13 projects viable in 2023. The Fiocruz unit is seeking to build partnerships for 15 new projects in the cultural, social and technology areas for the SUS, to be implemented from 2024. auditorium of the institution’s Health History Documentation Center, in Rio de Janeiro. The event is free and open to professionals in the areas of social and corporate environmental governance (ESG), health, the third sector, universities, research institutes and others interested in the topic. Registration can be made through the Sympla platform until the 24th. Those who register will receive the link to broadcast the event by email on the eve of the seminar. Luis Donadio stated that the seminar will celebrate with partners who supported Fiocruz projects last year, because he understands the importance of acknowledging and thanking and showing supporters the stage of each of those projects. Another objective is to foster a culture, especially with science and technology institutions, of building mechanisms that talk to potential market financiers. “We want, with this seminar, to bring discussions about endowment, blended finance (financial arrangement that combines public, private and philanthropic resources), donation programs from individuals that could be being applied in universities, research institutes”. Social participation Donadio believes that Brazil does not have such a strong culture of social participation, supporting important projects for the country that are developed by public institutions. He explains that 80% of the basic science produced in Brazil is carried out at universities and science and technology institutes. “And much of this knowledge cannot leave the bench or complete a pre-clinical phase, due to very basic things such as the acquisition of inputs, maintenance of a visiting researcher”. He does not understand that this is a substitute logic for the government’s responsibility in maintaining and investing in the public sector, but it constitutes a complementary instrument in the face of a short budgetary resource. In this case, the way out is to seek these alternatives in an organized, planned and professional manner. As Fiocruz has developed this experience over the last 15 years, Luis Donadio understands that this is something to be shared with other institutions that carry out work just as important, but that do not have this structured in their operation. Looking at the broader culture of donation, it appears that Brazil is among the 20 countries in the ranking of the main solidarity nations and philanthropic participation, according to the annual report World Giving Index 2022, produced by the organization Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), represented in Brazil by the Institute for the Development of Social Investment (Idis). Donadio pointed out that Brazil lacks an institutional culture in public and university research institutions to work in this context of partnerships that, if encouraged and invited, participate in initiatives. The seminar will take place in person, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and will also be transmitted over the internet, bringing together several specialists and institutions in three panels throughout the day, which will discuss The creative economy as a force for socioeconomic development in the peripheries; Endowment funds, do they work in Brazil?; and ESG in strengthening Health and Research in the country.
Agência Brasil
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