The decline of Brazil in the global health field: Rupture, loss, and reversal of leadership in the international health agenda

Author(s)

Trivellato, Paulo R. F. ; Ventura, Deisy de Freitas L.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: LATIN AMERICAN POLICY; v. 13, n. 2, p. 14-pg., 2022-10-13.

Abstract

The implantation of a public system of universal access to care has been the most significant contribution from the health sector to Brazil's democratization, and its diffusion through foreign policy raised the country to a status as a global health leader. Yet, the rise of a far-right government impinges a fracture upon this dual process, through the renunciation of leading roles in both regional and wider progressive initiatives. Based on documental and literature analysis guided by exploratory interviews with global health agents, this article introduces the actors responsible for the alignment between foreign policy and the Unified Health System principles and demonstrates that a significant retrenchment of diplomatic activity paved the way for the renunciation of protagonism in progressive agendas. The process began with the shutdown of Unasur Health and public opposition to the sexual and reproductive rights agenda and culminated in the felonious emptying of technical cadres from the Ministry of Health and the change of position on intellectual property issues related to public health during the Covid-19 pandemic. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/26002-6 - Brazil's changing directions in global health: a critical analysis of the country positioning in the World Health Organization in 2019
• Grantee: Paulo Roberto Ferreira Trivellato
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master