The country was experiencing the biggest health crisis in its history when it became an emblematic sight in the midst of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign: photos and videos showed people in leaflets with stickers of gratitude and support for the Unified Health System (SUS). The battle to control the epidemic has only just begun, but the images of Brazilian citizens with equal access to vaccinations are still moving, as they translate into images of the initiative’s importance to the population. And they gain even greater significance on March 21, SUS Pride Day, a date to encourage collective participation in developing actions for the benefit of public health.
The SUS Pride Day was established in 1986, at the end of the Eighth National Health Congress, and is the main milestone in the development of the system, an achievement of the Brazilian people, who mobilized to develop the project established by the Federal Constitution of 1988. Thanks to its organization, every sphere of public power enjoys It has specific characteristics and works in partnership with others so that health promotion, prevention and care are within the reach of all Brazilians in an integrated manner.
– SUS is present in the daily life of the population in various ways, from health monitoring, which controls the quality of services and products, to routine consultations and vaccinations. SUS Pride Day should rally all of us, users, network administrators, and health professionals around the achievements already built into these 31 years of existence and the much-needed progress to ensure high-quality care for all Brazilians – reinforces the Secretary of State, Alexander Ship.
Among the main measures taken by the Department of Health (SES) in recent years, the fight against Covid-19 has achieved great success in vaccination. To date, more than 37 million doses of fortifying agents have been distributed in an agile, equitable and proportional manner, by air and land routes, to 92 municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro. More than 31 million doses have already been administered to the population of Rio de Janeiro, a vaccination coverage of 83% in the target audience from the age of 12 years, which has led to a continuous decrease in disease rates, expanding the process of flexibility in protection measures.
Since the start of the vaccination campaign, more than 100 vaccines have been delivered. Hospitalizations decreased by 88.78%, and deaths decreased by 79.54%. To provide the necessary timely response to patients recovering from the disease, the Post-Covid University Hospital has been set up at Pedro Ernesto University Hospital, where relays are treated by specialized specialists. The service has already made 25,720 calls since it opened in June last year.
Another source of pride for SUS is the state’s Transplant Program (PET), which in 2021 alone has helped perform more than 1,100 transplants, including cornea, kidney, pancreas, heart and liver. A team qualified for Rio State after 15 years for lung transplants. A helicopter was made available to transport the organs, an acquisition that streamlined the process, counting within hours to be successful. The plane carried more than 110 members last year. Athlete Gabriel Montenegro completed seven years of liver transplantation on March 26. At the age of 23, after fulminant hepatitis, he urgently needed to undergo the procedure. Today, PET and SUS gratefully celebrate:
Thanks to the work of the State Organ Transplant Program, I had the honor of a family that allowed me to donate organs and saved my life. Brazil has one of the largest public farming systems in the world. PET, through SUS, does a very serious and transparent job.
Nurse Rafael Forneroli, a humanitarian advisor for the State Department of Health (SES), is excited about SUS Pride Day. 14 years ago, he arrived at SES with the goal of developing the sector, with the help of a multidisciplinary team. Today he leads the day-to-day actions of integrating and appreciating health service users and staff.
The National Humanitarian Policy emerged in 2003, with the goal of getting the SUS off the ground once and for all and helping put its principles into practice. Undoubtedly a source of pride for all of us. It is a day to celebrate.
