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Loading ...Brazil Launches Unparalled Study of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009Diseases of the circulatory system are the leading cause of death in Brazil. According to the Health Ministry (MS) there are 300,000 deaths and over one million hospitalizations per year, and hypertension and diabetes mellitus are major risk factors. Hypertension affects approximately 35% of the Brazilian population over the age of 40 years and of […]
Brazil Producing Generic Version of Tamiflu
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009Synopsis in English: Brazil’s Pharmaceutical Technology Institute (commonly known by its old name, Farmanguinhos), a subsidiary of the state-run public health entity Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (“Fiocruz“), has started producing capsules of oseltamivir phosphate, the generic version of the marketed by pharma multinational Roche as Tamiflu, for distribution by the Health Ministry (MS) to reference hospitals […]
MERCOSUR Tackles Tobacco Advertising
Saturday, June 20th, 2009At their Ministerial concluded today, the Health Ministers of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) nations (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, plus Venezuela once Brazil and Paraguay ratify the Protocol of Adhesion regarding its membership) plus MERCOSUR associate member Chile reached an agreement [MERCOSUR/RMS/Acuerdo No. 01/09] committing themselves to cooperating toward the elimination of […]
Brazil Bans DDT
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009Brazilian President Lula just signed a law banning all manufacture, import, export, stocking, sale or use of the organochlorine pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, more commonly known as DDT. The law also requires (a) the incineration of all existing DDT stocks in Brazil within 30 days; (b) federal agencies to complete a study within two years of the environmental […]
Brazil Steps Up Funding for Women’s Cancer Exams
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Brazil’s Health Ministry (MS) announced today two measures to improve access to breast and cervix cancer screening within the country’s Unified Health System (SUS). R$ 94.5 million will be invested over the next three years to increase Pap tests and mammograms (see table below). In addition, in June 2009 the Information System for Breast Cancer Control (SISMAMA) will be brought […]
Smoking Falling Among Brazilian Youth
Thursday, April 9th, 2009The consumption of cigarettes among Brazilian youth has fallen more than half in the last 20 years. In 2008, according to the Health Ministry’s (MS) Surveillance of Risk Factors and Protection from Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (Vigilãncia do Fatores de Risco e Proteção Crônicas por Inquérito Telefônico – VIGITEL), 14.8% of youths between […]
Alcohol Abuse Growing Among Brazilians / Crece consumo abusivo de álcool entre os brasileiros
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009Abusive consumption of alcohol is increasing among Brazilians, and Brazilian women are drinking more. That’s two of the findings from the Health Ministry’s (MS) 2008 version of the Surveillance of Risk Factors and Protection from Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (Vigilãncia do Fatores de Risco e Proteção Crônicas por Inquérito Telefônico – VIGITEL), and the […]
Vehicle Pollution in São Paulo Quadruples Risk of Death
Saturday, March 7th, 2009Vehicle emissions indirectly kill 20 people per day in the São Paulo metropolitan region, according to a study reported in the daily Folha de São Paulo done by the Air Pollution Laboratory of the University of São Paulo’s (USP) Faculty of Medicine (FM). The study was commissioned by the Brazilian Health Ministry (MS) and has […]
Brazil Creates Cancer Research Network / Brasil lança rede de pesquisas sobre o câncer
Thursday, March 5th, 2009Brazil’s National Council on Scientific and technological Development (CNPq) and Health Ministry (MS) have launched a Brazilian Cancer Research Network (Rede Brasileira de Pesquisas sobre o Câncer). According to the National Cancer Institute (INCA), cancer is the second greatest cause of death in Brazil, and it is projected to cause 465,000 new deaths in 2009. […]
Brazil’s Poor Advance Less in Health MDGs / Pobres avançam menos em ODM de saúde
Sunday, February 1st, 2009In a prior post I discussed how a new web portal (Portal ODM) has been created in Brazil, with help from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UNICEF, that would allow anyone who wishes to track (and perhaps influence) Brazil’s progress at the municipal level toward achieving the the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).* I […]