Global diffusion of public policies during international health emergencies: analysis of the Brazilian Program to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito during the Zika virus epidemic

• Grant number: 17/13699-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - International Politics
• Principal Investigator: Deisy de Freitas Lima Ventura
• Grantee: Heloísa Pinheiro Rosa de Castro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Relações Internacionais (IRI). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Zika virus gained prominence in the Brazilian and international media by the end of 2015, when it was raised the suspicion of the relation between the infection of pregnant women and the occurrence of the "Zika congenital syndrome", which includes cases of microcephaly, as well as other disorders of the Central Nervous System. The increase in the number of suspected cases of this association led the Brazilian Ministry of Health to declare Public Health Emergency of National Concern (in November 2015) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare Public Health Emergency of International Concern (in February 2016). Since then, the Brazilian government has adopted as its main strategy to contain the Zika epidemic the fight against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, investing in the destruction of the mosquito breeding foci and in campaigns aimed at guiding the population about measures to be taken in their residences. The objective of this research is to analyse, based on the literature on the diffusion of public policies, whether norms of International Law and the performance of International Organizations, especially the WHO, influenced Brazilian public policies related to the "mosquito warfare" strategy during the international emergency of the Zika virus syndrome throughout 2016. We also intend to develop a bibliographical review aiming to analyse the actions of fighting mosquito vectors in the light of a critical approach to Global Health, focusing especially on the literature on the process of securitization of health. (AU)