Several entities and movements gather next Tuesday (30) for the 1st Free National Conference on Quilombola Health in the history of Brazil. The historic event will discuss online issues such as care, care, prevention, among other points, for these populations.
Throughout nearly 450 years of history of quilombos in Brazil, there has never been a conference dedicated to discussing their specificities in the field of health. With this Tuesday’s event, the communities intend to debate the right to health in line with the struggle for land and territory.
“This conference came at a crucial point, because in the pandemic that took place, the people most affected were us, the black, quilombola and underserved population, who still need to be included in the system. The conferences come so that we can really do the construction. our lives are at stake”, says Graça Epifânio, coordinator of the Collective Health of the National Coordination of Articulation of Rural Black Communities and Quilombolas.
With the theme “Quilombola health as a public policy: In defense of democracy, the right to land and for a new model of health within quilombola territories”, the 1st Free National Conference on Quilombola Health is part of the official calendar of the 17th National Conference de Saúde, scheduled for July 2nd to 5th in Brasilia.
The idea of the event is to establish a framework for quilombola communities, in a space to discuss specific demands and seek solutions that promote equality and respect for ancestral traditions. The expectation is to drive actions and policies.
In 2020, the mobilization around the fight for priority access to vaccination against covid-19 resulted in the guarantee of this right. Now, the focus is on expanding primary care, respecting ancestral and traditional quilombola medicine, ensuring greater representation of quilombolas in social control of health and promoting a national policy on quilombola health.
“The Conference is historic and important because it permeates our territory. There is no way to do health if you don’t have a territory. You can’t do health if you don’t have a minimum of structure. That’s what sets us apart today, that’s it that makes us different, to the point of wanting a quilombola conference, a conference to talk about our specificities, our difficulties. Because. We are the ones who are. In places that still don’t have electricity, don’t have drinking water. So it’s about this health that we have to fight and assert itself until today is about that.”
The event is organized by CONAQ, in partnership with the National Health Council (CNS) and 18 other representative institutions, social movements and political organizations. There will be a live online broadcast starting at 6 pm. To register, visit the link.
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
