The Bolsonaro government left the Unified Health System (SUS) in a situation with “indications of unsustainability” and does not even have basic data, for example, on vaccination coverage against covid-19. The alert is in a report by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) delivered to the transition team of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to which the Estadão had access.
The precariousness of the available data led the Court of Accounts to inform the transition group that it was not even possible to assess compliance with immunization targets. The document points out that there is a lack of morbidity (acquired diseases) and mortality data related to the post-covid 19 syndrome. The lack of information “may affect the planning of health policies, due to the high number of possible cases”, it says.
Court auditors also found problems with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) case reporting forms. The data, which in the Court’s assessment are incomplete, feed the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System. The low quality of information impairs the definition of public policies to combat the diseases.
Failures in vaccination coverage are on the list of concerns for Lula’s team. Data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) show that the childhood vaccination rate in Brazil has fallen rapidly. The rate that was once 93.1% is now at 71.49%. During his government, President Jair Bolsonaro questioned the effectiveness of vaccines and even dismissed health ministers who advocated immunization.
Cardiologist Ludhmila Hajjar, a member of the group that discusses the transition in health, highlighted that the problem is not limited to covid. “This is the immediate challenge of vaccine coverage. And it’s not just covid, it’s everything. The National Immunization Program has to be strengthened,” she said on Tuesday.
The report also provides a general diagnosis of the SUS. The court’s technicians found “indications of unsustainability” in the system and suggested a “deep debate” regarding the current financing model. “There is a tendency to increase the need for resources due to the change in the demographic profile of the population and inflationary aspects, which, associated with the unfavorable fiscal scenario and the increase in expenses, can further aggravate the current lack of assistance”, he says. the text.
With the effects of inflation and population aging, the TCU projects that the Union’s expenses for 2030 would be around R$ 219 billion. However, for the assistance deficit to be covered, the expenditure must be R$ 277 billion.
The TCU points to a waste of R$ 13 billion per year. “Although it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to monitor, monitor and evaluate the goals and commitments agreed with hospitals within the scope of the SUS, this control activity is not carried out in a systematic and structured way. The situation reveals the need to promote a reassessment, not only of norms, but of public policies related to the subject”, he says.
Amid the rise in cases of covid-19, the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga received members of the transition. At the meeting, Lula’s team wore a mask; Queiroga, no. The ministry did not comment on the TCU report.
Also this Wednesday, Queiroga used the social network to advocate that the population vaccinate themselves, an unusual gesture in the Bolsonaro administration.
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