[Management in tension: the Brazilian public health surveillance system and its response to the covid-19 pandemic]

Hist Cienc Saude Manguinhos. 2023 Aug;30(suppl 1):e2023040. doi: 10.1590/S0104-59702023000100040.
[Article in Portuguese]

Abstract

This article addresses the Brazilian government's response to the covid-19 pandemic, particularly the public health surveillance and epidemic intelligence system. It traces the evolution of disease surveillance as a response to the International Health Regulations in the context of global health. Executive orders published in the official gazette, Diário Oficial da União, are analyzed, as well as the actors and groups formed to tackle the pandemic between January 2020 and March 2022. The founding assumption is that epidemic intelligence must be placed at the service of public health. Bureaucratic tension and changes in protagonism among different groups can be observed as these intelligence mechanisms were dismantled.

O artigo aborda a resposta do governo brasileiro à pandemia da covid-19, enfatizando o sistema de vigilância em saúde e de inteligência epidemiológica. Retoma a evolução da vigilância em resposta às normas do Regulamento Sanitário Internacional, no contexto da saúde global. Analisa os atos do Executivo publicados no Diário Oficial da União e se detém nos atores e grupos formados para o enfrentamento da pandemia da covid-19 de janeiro de 2020 até março de 2022. Parte da premissa de que a inteligência epidemiológica deve estar a serviço da saúde pública. Constata-se que certo tensionamento burocrático e a transferência de protagonismo entre grupos marcam o desmonte dos mecanismos de inteligência.

Publication types

  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / prevention & control
  • Humans
  • Pandemics / prevention & control
  • Public Health
  • Public Health Surveillance