On August 12, the integration meeting of the Inova Saúde Indígena (Innovate Indigenous Health) program took place. This program aims to support projects that contribute to the improvement of the Indigenous Health Care Subsystem (SasiSUS). The activities were started in the first months of this year and a new call for projects was launched in August, by the vice-presidencies for Environment, Care, and Health Promotion (VPAAPS), for Production and Innovation in Health (VPPIS), and for Research and Biological Collections (VPPCB).

The four program participants - Fiotec, Fiocruz Project Office, project sub-coordinators, and the Inova program team - were able to make a brief initial presentation during the meeting, which was conducted by Sandra Fraga, from VPAAPS, and Guilherme Netto, general coordinator of the program. Currently, there are 17 coordinators and 23 projects submitted, 17 of which are recommended.

The call for projects will last for two years and aims to foster projects aimed at serving Indigenous populations in the different regions of the country, including those living in villages and in urban areas. Fiotec supports the execution of the program, which works to guarantee a differentiated care, considering the emerging and re-emerging health vulnerabilities of this population.

Natalia Salvador, one of the coordinators of the Fiotec Projects team, congratulated the initiative and thanked the opportunity on behalf of the entire institution: "we are privileged and proud to be part of this movement. We will be together all the time, throughout the execution [of the program]". Besides Natalia, the integration meeting was attended by analyst Igor Dias, who will be responsible for following the program's execution at Fiotec.

International Day of Indigenous Peoples

The meeting took place in the same month as the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, a date created by the United Nations (UN) and celebrated on August 9. The goal of the date is to promote the fight for the guarantee of minimally dignified existence conditions for Indigenous peoples all over the planet, especially with regard to their rights to self-determination of their living conditions and culture, as well as the guarantee of Human Rights.