Fiocruz will start 56 new comprehensive health projects in Rio's favelas

Fiocruz will start 56 new comprehensive health projects in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro in partnership with civil society institutions. The proposals are part of the country's first public call for proposals with this focus. With an initial contribution of R$4.5 million, the plan originated in 2021, supporting 41 projects in six cities. With the increase in investment to R$22.2 million, the number of projects supported reached 146 in 33 cities in the state. Around 385,000 people have already been benefited.

The event that defines the beginning of the work will bring together 150 community leaders last Friday (8/2) at the Museu da Vida in Manguinhos. Fiocruz president Mario Moreira will be there to welcome the leaders. During the meeting, representatives of the social organizations selected by the public call will receive guidance on the schedules and processes for the execution of projects, as well as panels with the participation of partner institutions. In the coming months, actions are planned for professional training in health, activities linked to mental health, projects to develop agroecology, communication and information initiatives with a focus on art and culture, and production of social diagnoses of health policies and services in the favelas that are part of the plan.

“The expansion of the project, with an increase in the number of initiatives and their geographical scope, boosts the impact of health actions on the most vulnerable populations in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Fiocruz's close dialog with the territories is fundamental for the sustainability of these actions and for building a health system with social participation. These communities are not just beneficiaries, but true partners, whose experiences guide the development of strategies that are effective and adapted to their needs,” says Mario Moreira.

R$5.6 million will be transferred to comprehensive health actions in the favelas. Among the proposals, 55% were drawn up by social organizations that had not yet taken action under the first notice issued by the Integrated Health Plan for the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro in 2021. With the implementation of the new actions, the territorial scope of the Plan will be expanded from the current 18 municipalities (Angra dos Reis, Campos dos Goytacazes, Duque de Caxias, Itaperuna, Magé, Mangaratiba, Maricá, Mesquita, Niterói, Nova Iguaçu, Paraty, Petrópolis, Queimados, Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, São Gonçalo, São João de Meriti, and Volta Redonda) to 33, with the actions of social organizations in Barra Mansa, Belford Roxo, Cabo Frio, Cachoeira de Macacu, Guapimirim, Itaboraí, Itaguaí, Japeri, Nilópolis, Paracambi, Rio Bonito, Rio Claro, São Pedro da Aldeia, Tanguá, and Teresópolis. 

Out of the 56 new projects that will begin the performance in the next few months, the increase in activities in some cities drew attention: 15 will develop health actions in the favelas of Niterói, eight in the favelas of São Gonçalo, seven in the favelas of Duque de Caxias, five in the favelas of Mesquita and four in Itaguaí and Belford Roxo. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, 25 strategies will be supported in the favelas of the North Zone, 15 in the favelas of the West Zone, nine in the favelas of the South Zone, and five in the favelas of the central region.

The executive coordinator of the Integrated Health Plan for the Favelas of RJ (Rio de Janeiro) - Fiocruz/UFRJ/Uerj/PUCR-Rio/Abrasco/SBPC/Alerj, Richarlls Martins, points out that the partnerships created since the beginning of the implementation of the Plan have been fundamental in enabling it to reach the various regions of the state: “The joining of new institutions will further strengthen the decentralization of actions. By expanding this sociotechnical network, we will be able to produce a substantiated assessment of this impact. The expansion of civil society participation in health in the favelas must be considered in the planning of public policies focused on decreasing inequalities in health and other areas.”

The latest UN Report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, in 2024, points out that 14.7 million will no longer be hungry in the country by 2023. “It implies knowing that the actions in the field of food security and nutrition carried out by the projects already supported have contributed to increasing the citizenship of our population, in alignment with global and national priorities,” says Richarlls.

Simultaneously with the incorporation of these 56 new projects, the start of a specific strategy will be announced aimed at drawing up an Integrated Health Plan in the favela of Rocinha. The project aims to map popular surveillance actions in health in the territory and produce a document that can subsidize coordinated actions between public health management and civil society.

In 2025, actions focused on continuing training for health professionals working in the favelas will expand, as well as creating a health communication and information plan for these territories. The production of a diagnosis and evaluation of the strategies carried out by universities and research institutions are also planned. 

Cumulative results 

The Integrated Health Plan for the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro - Fiocruz/UFRJ/Uerj/PUC-Rio/Abrasco/SBPC/Alerj has already impacted, directly and indirectly, approximately 385,000 people in favelas in 18 cities, supporting food security, mental health, health communication, popular health education, and income generation. The projects have a main role in fighting hunger and the right to adequate food, with 525 tons of food distributed to families living in poverty or extreme poverty since 2021. During the period, the Plan contributed to the operation of seven community kitchens that distributed approximately 100,000 meals. 

The supported projects that stood out focus on mental health, a field identified by community leaders as critical and heavily impacted by the pandemic. In the area of popular health communication, 45% of the actions involve producing content on prevention, vaccination, and fighting fake news, for example, the Jovens Comunicadores (Young Communicators) project by the Bem TV organization, which works in the favelas of Niterói and São Gonçalo and won the 2024 edition of the Banco do Brasil Foundation's National Social Technology Award. Focused on comprehensive education, 40% of the projects promote tutoring actions and reversing student dropout rates. The courses offered by the organizations contributed to the training of popular health agents in the favelas. In addition, the supported organizations produced a wide range of diagnoses of health conditions in the favelas. Approximately 10,000 children, teenagers, and young people from the favelas take part in the activities. The data estimate that 75% of the public benefiting directly from all the actions is made up of women, the majority of whom are black.