Brazil’s Ministry of Health declares a public health emergency in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory

A Center for Emergency Public Health Operations was also established

Published in Apr 05, 2023 07:11 PM Updated in May 20, 2024 09:34 PM

COE Yanomami

Originally published on Jan.21, 2023

Brazil’s Ministry of Health has declared a Public Health Emergency of National Importance (Emergência em Saúde Pública de Importância Nacional) in view of the urgent need to combat the lack of public health assistance among the indigenous peoples who live in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory. The ordinance was published on Friday (20) in a special edition of Brazil’s Official Gazette (Diário Oficial da União), and signed by the Minister of Health Nísia Trindade.

The Ministry of Health also installed a Center for Emergency Public Health Operations (Centro de Operações de Emergências em Saúde Pública/COE-Yanomami) for coordinated management of the national response to the situation. Brazil’s Indigenous Health Secretariat (Secretaria de Saúde Indígena/SESAI) will be responsible for managing the COE.

The Center, in turn, will be responsible for coordinating all measures during the state of emergency – as well as for gathering funds for the reestablishment of health services, and for articulation with state and municipal managers of Brazil’s public health system (Sistema Único de Saúde/SUS).

A SERIOUS SITUATION – Ministry of Health teams have been in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory – which harbors more than 30,400 inhabitants – since last Monday (16). The group has encountered children and elderly people facing severe malnutrition, as well as cases of malaria, acute respiratory infection (ARI) and other serious illnesses.

After returning from the mission – scheduled for the 25th –, the team will have around 15 days to present a report on the critical health situation that these indigenous people are facing. The specialists have been analyzing the public health situation across the region, as well as the services that are being provided and the supplies that are available.

SITUATION ROOM – On Friday (20), the Ministry of Health installed a Situation Room to deal with this serious health and humanitarian crisis. Minister of Health Nisia Trindade highlighted the dramatic malnutrition encountered by the health professionals who were sent to the Yanomami territory – and announced that food, medicine and other supplies would be immediately sent.