The Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, stated this Thursday (26) that there is no lack of health assistance given the prolonged drought faced by states in the North and Central-West regions.
“We cannot talk about a crisis of lack of assistance,” said the minister. “But there are, yes, municipalities with very strong pressure at the moment, especially on basic health units and UPAs. There is no impact in terms of lack of beds that can be signaled as a major warning in this regard, but we do not want to reach that situation”.
The minister’s statement came after a meeting with the Health Secretaries of the Northern region to discuss responses to the climate emergency in the states most affected by smoke, heat and drought.
Representatives also participated:
- of the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass),
- of the National Council of Municipal Health Secretariats (Conasems),
- of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO),
- from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA)
- and the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development (MDR).
According to the minister, the smoke from forest fires is already causing health problems among the population.
Since the most critical moment of the forest fires, the Ministry of Health recorded, between the first fortnight of August and the first half of September, an increase in consultations for nausea and vomiting in Rondônia, Acre, Tocantins, Goiás and the Federal District.
“In some states, there are municipalities with an increase in hospitalizations, more related to acute respiratory syndromes, but we know that these effects can also be medium and long term”, stated Nísia. “So, we have been working together with Conass and the state departments themselves to better understand this process.”
To mitigate the problem, the federal government has installed support tents for community hydration and nebulization, especially in the Amazon and Pantanal states.
