Book proposing a humanistic view of Brazil's public health system to be launched at Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden

The Unified Health System (SUS) is more than a public policy: it is a living network of professionals, researchers, patients, managers, and citizens who, throughout history, have been building and defending the universal right to health. This trajectory, made up of achievements and challenges, gains new layers of reflection in the book SUS: Humanities in the search for possible paths, which will be launched at a free event open to the public at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden on September 18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Published by the Ministry of Health Publishing House and made available by the Ministry of Health Virtual Health Library (BVS MS), the publication brings together texts by professionals, academics, and artists, seeking a reflection that goes beyond public policy. The launch will take place at the Botanical Garden's Medicinal Plants Thematic Collection. The book is now available for download here.

The publication was born out of an initiative by the Ministry of Health's Cultural Center (CCMS/CGDI/SAA/SE) and the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Studies and Research in Health Anthropology, part of the Department of Public Health at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Liepas/Unirio), in partnership with the Public Innovation Connection Network – RJ.

The program begins at 9 a.m. with music and poetry. At 9:30 a.m., professor and master in Environmental Management Yara Britto and JBRJ researcher Viviane Kruel will lead a guided tour of the medicinal plant collection. From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the public is invited to participate in a roundtable discussion to share ideas and knowledge. The event will close with a lively circle dance led by popular artists Elias José and Giordano Bruno, who represent Brazilian culture and traditional knowledge.

Reflections on health, art, culture, and humanities

The project, curated by Ildenê Loula and Rosamélia Cunha, takes a humanistic and cultural perspective on the SUS. Among the topics covered are patient narratives as a tool for care, experiences that bring art and clinical practice closer together, reflections on misinformation in health, and the valorization of traditional knowledge in dialogue with scientific knowledge. The collection also presents initiatives such as the expographic project of the Botanical Garden's Thematic Collection of Medicinal Plants, highlighting the integration between health, culture, and biodiversity.

The book also features international contributions, such as the experience of the National University of Tucumán, in Argentina, on the incorporation of Medical Humanities in the training of undergraduate students, and reflections on the challenges of global health.

According to doctors Ildenê Loula and Rosamélia Cunha, the publication deals with different topics, but they come together as part of this broader vision of health, art, culture, and humanities in a living network. “For this work, each text is approached in a poetic way, with the ability to make people smile, rejoice, enchant, and move them, while promoting health information and humanization,” they point out.

Also check out the book How Anthropology Can Help Us Think About the SUS Today, published in 2024.

Book launch: SUS: Humanities in search of possible paths

Location: Thematic Collection of Medicinal Plants at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden – access via Rua Pacheco Leão, 915.

Date: September 18 (Thursday)

Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Registration:

Spaces: 30 – free admission.

Schedule:

9 a.m. – Opening – welcome with music and poetry

9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Guided tour of the Medicinal Plants thematic collection

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Roundtable discussion

1 p.m. – Closing with a circle dance led by popular artists Elias José and Giordano Bruno