Event Promotes Discussions on Public Health and Celebrates the Signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement Between HUSM, Conab, and Ebserh
The 16th edition of the International Congress of the Rede Unida began on Wednesday evening (31st) at the UFSM Planetarium. Entitled “The Thousand and One Healths of the Territories,” this year’s edition aims to discuss health, care, and freedom as ethical attributes of education and public health.
During the event’s program, which runs until the 3rd, there will be discussion panels, round tables, and international forums, exploring much more than just the field of health, since, according to Law 8.080, health is not just the absence of diseases, but is determined by various factors such as housing, food, work, and income. During the event’s opening, members of the University Hospital of Santa Maria (HUSM), the National Supply Company (Conab), and the Brazilian Hospital Services Company (Ebserh) signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement that will ensure that 30% of HUSM’s institutional purchases come from family farming.
The Congress is held every two years. The last edition, in 2022, took place in the city of Vitória, in Espírito Santo. This is the first time the event is being held outside a capital city. The president of this edition and director of the Health Sciences Center (CCS) at UFSM, Maria Denise Schimith, comments that bringing the Congress to UFSM is very important to create greater horizontality in the discussion circles and forums, uniting academics, professors, and the community. The University, which, as Maria Denise highlights, is a reference in the implementation of health residency programs and stands out for its Student Assistance in Latin America, can make the debate much richer and more horizontal.
Technical Cooperation Agreement
During the ceremony, the president of Conab, Edegar Pretto, the superintendent of HUSM, Humberto Moreira Palma, and the president of Ebserh, Arthur Chioro, signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement. This commitment will make HUSM the first among federal university hospitals in Brazil to ensure that at least 30% of its financial resources are allocated to purchasing food products from family farming. The action will take place through the Food Acquisition Program (PAA), which is executed by Conab, in the Institutional Purchase modality.
The superintendent of HUSM, Humberto Moreira Palma, highlights that 470,000 meals are produced annually at the Hospital. For this reason, the Unified Health System is also a “distributor of income that stimulates the economy, as it works for social well-being, health, life, and food.” He also emphasizes that, with the Agreement, in addition to improving the quality of food, it will be possible to enhance the regional economy through a global health approach.
After the signing, the Agreement will undergo a public call, so there is no forecast yet for when it will come into effect.
Representatives from the Ministry of Health, presidents of Brazilian and international universities, political authorities, and indigenous and quilombola peoples were present at the opening ceremony.
Rede Unida
The Rede Unida is an international association of professionals, health workers, managers, users of the unified health system, and professors. It began in the 1970s with the Brazilian health reform. “Unida” means a proposal to unite actions identified at the time as “Teaching-Service Integration”. It is an important initiative for integrating students into the work dynamics of basic health units, as it aims to bring academia closer to the health services of the population and the territory.
Text: Andreina Possan, journalism student and intern at the News Agency
Photos: Gustavo Damascena, editorial production student and scholarship holder at the News Agency
Editing: Mariana Henriques, journalist
Translation: Amanda Petry Radünz, assistant translator at the International Affairs Office of UFSM
Original publication: https://www.ufsm.br/2024/08/01/16a-edicao-do-congresso-internacional-da-rede-unida-acontece-na-ufsm
