2030 Agenda: combating social inequalities is essential

President of Fiocruz, Nísia Trindade Lima, participated on April 20 in the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development held in Santiago, Chile. Organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Government of Mexico, the meeting brought together representatives from 28 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, including 35 non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental specialized organizations and agencies of the United Nations system, as well as more than 300 participants from the private sector, academia and civil society.  

In her speech, the president said that "the fight against social inequalities, both within the countries and between different States, is indispensable for compliance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". According to Lima, the concentration of most patents in the field of biotechnology in 15 companies is an important expression of this inequality and should be rethought.

Lima participated in the table Social Challenges in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, along with Minister of Social Development of Uruguay, Marina Arismendi; executive director of the Cooperation Agency of Medellin, Catalina Restrepo; and secretary for economic policy and sustainable development of Conferência Sindical de Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras das Américas, Rafael Freire Neto.

Her speech reinforced the theme of social determinants of health, an understanding that, in her words, is "closely linked to social and local economic dynamics." According to Lima, it is necessary to think of health as an “indispensable and structuring factor for sustainable development and quality of life. You can never understand health as a sectoral policy. It is an essential axis for development, crossing several areas and having a multisectoral character."

Lima mentioned the book Development and underdevelopment, by economist Celso Furtado, edited in 1961, when he affirmed that "what characterizes development is the underlying social project. Economic growth, as we know it, is based on the preservation of the privileges of the elites that satisfy their desire for modernization. When the social project gives priority to the actual improvement of living conditions of the majority of the population, growth morphs into development. Well, this metamorphosis does not occur spontaneously. It is the fruit of a project, an expression of a political will”.

The president of Fiocruz also emphasized that Brazil have strongly contributed to improve the view on sustainable development and the design of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, playing a determinant role in the extension of the social themes in the final document.

On the eve of the speech, Lima and Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of ECLAC, signed an international cooperation agreement aimed at compliance with the 2030 Agenda.