Fiocruz participates in bilateral meetings of the Ministry of Health with G20 leaders

In the midst of the discussions of the G20 Health Working Group, taking place between October 29th and 31st in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's minister of Health, Nísia Trindade Lima, participated in bilateral meetings with authorities and global leaders. The president of Fiocruz, Mario Moreira, was invited by the minister and accompanied her to some of these meetings, such as with the CEO of Cepi, the vice minister of Health of Japan, the secretary of State for Health Management of Portugal and the assistant secretary for Global Affairs of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. At the meetings, it was possible to discuss issues such as cooperation and regional production and to reinforce Brazil's commitment to global health.

Representatives from the Ministry of Health and Fiocruz align with CEPI on cooperation proposals for a fair and effective global response (photo: Disclosure)

"We are happy to take part in the negotiations and in the Brazilian government's articulations with the G-20," says Fiocruz president, Mario Moreira. "We are the science and technology institution in charge of carrying out the Ministry of Health's policies and programs in global health and, especially, in the policy of fostering the development of regional capacities for the development and production of vaccines and medicines."

On Tuesday (10/29), the minister and the president of Fiocruz met with the CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), Richard Hatchett, and discussed with him Cepi's strategic role in strengthening regional vaccine production. They also aligned cooperation proposals for an equitable and effective global response. In July this year, the Ministry of Health, Fiocruz and Cepi held the second edition of the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit in Rio de Janeiro, bringing together R&D and manufacturing experts, authorities, representatives of civil society and industry. On the occasion, it was announced that the Foundation, through the Immunobiological Technology Institute (Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz), would be joining Cepi's global network of vaccine manufacturers.

Also on Tuesday, Nísia and Moreira met with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Health Management, Cristina Vaz Tomé. For the Brazilian Minister of Health, "the partnership between Brazil and Portugal brings an important opportunity to strengthen our actions against misinformation, increasing confidence in vaccines and other aspects of public health".

There was also a bilateral meeting with the European Union's deputy commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Lorena Boix Alonso, when the subject of the social determinants of health was discussed. The last meeting of the day was with Japan's vice minister of Health, Masami Sakoi, when the country's long-standing partnership with Brazil was celebrated. Cooperation with Fiocruz on vaccines, technological development and training was also highlighted.

Nísia Trindade Lima and Mario Moreira also met with the secretary of State for Health Management of Portugal, Cristina Vaz Tomé (photo: Disclosure)

On the second day of bilateral meetings between the minister and global leaders, on Wednesday (10/30), the president of Fiocruz also accompanied the minister to meetings, such as the one with Singapore's minister of Health, Ong Ye Kung. They spoke about the importance of regional health production and innovation systems to tackle public health emergencies.

At the meeting with the US assistant secretary, Loyce Pace, and the chief of Staff of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sean McCluskie, they were able to talk about decentralizing the production of supplies, telemedicine and artificial intelligence.

There was also a meeting with Norway's vice minister of Health, Usman Ahmad Mushtaq. They were able to debate the impacts of climate change on health and delve into the topics of telehealth and regional production of health goods.

Minister Nísia Trindade Lima also met with other health authorities and leaders. At the meetings with the UK's under-secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, Andrew Gwynne, and the executive director of Unaids, Winnie Byanyima, Fiocruz senior researcher Luiz Augusto Galvão represented Mario Moreira. The meeting with Unaids discussed issues such as progress towards a regional production alliance. During the meeting with the UK vice minister, the Brazilian and British ministries prepared to sign a Letter of Intent to deepen relations between the countries, taking advantage of the exchange of experiences between the SUS and the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS), UK's public healthcare system.