BRAZIL

COMMITTEE: WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION)

TOPIC- DISEASE CONTROL IN HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES
DELEGATE: ALEXANDRA SFIRLEAZA- LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC NR 1 BALS
Brazil is the fifth most-populous country on Earth and accounts for one-third of
Latin America’s population. Most of the inhabitants of Brazil are concentrated
along the eastern seaboard, although its capital, Brasília, is located far inland and
increasing numbers of migrants are moving to the interior.
Many of Brazil’s health problems stem
from widespread undernourishment
and endemic diseases such as malaria,
yellow fever, dengue, amoebic
dysentery, tuberculosis, schistosomiasis,
and the dread Chagas disease, which is
transmitted by the bite of an insect that
infests the walls of wattle-and-daub
houses. Most of those diseases are common in lowland areas but rare at higher
elevations and in the subtropical climate zones.
Although most endemic tropical diseases
have been eradicated in the major cities,
migrants from infected areas have
reintroduced some maladies as far south
as São Paulo. Poor sanitary and housing
conditions exacerbate health risks,
particularly among Brazil’s millions of
shantytown dwellers, or afavelados, who
are concentrated in and around São
Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and other large
cities. In those areas new systems of potable water and sewage have greatly
reduced the spread of disease.
Government programs and privately supported clinics have been established in
many favelas to improve health conditions, particularly prenatal and infant
health care.Access to drinking water and sewage treatment is a response to the
pressing need to consider health-disease as a process that goes beyond merely a
biological concept, but which is, above
all, socially determined. Overcoming
social inequalities requires public
policies fundamentally oriented to
reach the largest portion of social
groups that, historically, and
particularly in recent years, have been
deprived of the social rights that ensure
citizenship.
Ensuring uninterrupted provision of safe drinking water is the most important
preventive measure to be implemented. Chlorine is widely available, inexpensive,
easily used, and effective against nearly all waterborne pathogens. Settlement
planning must provide for adequate access for water and sanitation needs and
meet the minimum space requirements per person, in accordance with
international guidelines.
Access to primary care is critical for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of
a wide range of diseases, as well as for providing an entry point for secondary and
tertiary care.
Rapid detection of cases of epidemic-prone diseases is essential to ensure rapid
control. A surveillance/early warning system should be quickly established to
detect outbreaks and monitor priority endemic diseases. Mass measles
immunization and vitamin A supplementation are immediate health priorities in
areas with inadequate coverage.