New British consul has a meeting with Fiocruz’s president to debate cooperation

In a courtesy visit on the morning of last Tuesday (August 11th), the new British general consul in Brazil, Anjoum Noorani, had a meeting with Fiocruz’s president, Nísia Trindade Lima, to know more about the forms of cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Foundation, catch up on common interests and debate future opportunities that are aligned to the principles of the British government. The consul was accompanied by the British director of Science and Innovation in Brazil, David Lloyd-Davies, and both of them also visited the Laboratory of Measles and Respiratory Viruses of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz).

The British consul highlighted the history of the partnership between the United Kingdom and Fiocruz as a “long, deep and broad” relationship (photo: Fiocruz)

During the meeting, Fiocruz’s president remembered her recent visit to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, which has a structuring collaboration with the Foundation, and highlighted the partnership with the University of Oxford, the participation in the international network of surveillance data and in the platform Global Health Network, among other actions that are related to the United Kingdom.

“As an institution, we have been working on a perspective of integrating science, technology and innovation in face of the challenges of the Unified Health System [SUS, in the Portuguese acronym] in Brazil, but, more and more, we also work with the perspective of global health”, explained the president, that emphasized the projects of the Foundation on the COVID-19 pandemic with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Kingdom. “The work to develop the vaccine was important: we produced the immunizing and were able to incorporate the technology. To this end, we count on the great help of the United Kingdom’s embassy to make connections and mediations”.

During the meeting, Nísia reinforced the strategic importance of working in an “integrated way”, involving research, surveillance and education and research activities.

The British consul highlighted the partnership background between the United Kingdom and Fiocruz as a “long, deep and broad” relationship. After visiting the Laboratory of Respiratory Viruses, Noorani said he was impressed to know more areas of cooperation that still exist between the country and the Foundation. The consul explained the point of view of the British government on the cooperation and wanted to understand the perspectives of the Foundation so that the bonds can be deepened.

He emphasized that he sees cooperation as a two-way street in which both learn together. And brought the debate about how it is possible to have an intersection between science and innovation, stressing that he considers it important to think “in a transversal way” about the impact of science and technology in politics and in public affairs.

Nísia brought attention to a strategic view of the Foundation for science, technology and innovation to contribute to the formulation of public policies aimed at developing the country. “Among the challenges we face is the matter of how to see sanitary emergencies in an interdisciplinary manner”, observed the president, that cited the NHS (National Health System) as a reference to think about problems of the structuration of health systems. “We understand that science, technology and innovation are part of the system. We must think about technology in the scope of health systems”, she stated.

The director of British Science and Innovation in Brazil, David Lloyd-Davies, pointed out the global priorities in governments in the area, such as the possible ways of using science and technology to create positive social impacts and promote health. “What we do here (in the meeting) is evaluate these global priorities and possible areas of convergence, taking into consideration that one of them is climate changes, a priority to our government and the partnership with Brazil”.

The visit aimed to learn more about the forms of cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Foundation, update on shared interests and discuss future opportunities in line with the pillars of the British government (photo: Fiocruz)

During the meeting, the head of the Laboratory for Respiratory Viruses and Measles of IOC/Fiocruz, Marilda Siqueira, mentioned the ongoing forms of cooperation with the United Kingdom, such as the presence of a British researcher in the lab and a partnership with the genomic network, with the delivery of supplies. “We have a very big cooperation, and we are interested in continuing it, including in the environmental area. It is an essential part, since we cannot have healthcare directed only to human beings in a healthcare unity. We need to see other matters that impact global health”.

The vice-president of Education, Information and Communication of Fiocruz, Cristiani Vieira Machado, also highlighted the interest of all units of the Foundation in keeping the cooperation with academic institutions from the United Kingdom in multiple areas, for instance, in the possibility of receiving British students. “They strengthen the bongs and the development of conjoined projects. We are aiming at strengthening more solid institutional partnerships”, she explained.