Fiocruz called (June 1st) 40 new projects approved in the Public Call for the Plan for Tackling COVID-19 in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. The proposed actions for different territories of the State will now have their performance guaranteed, with the subsidy of R$ 13.6 million, staggered until 2025. The announcement was made on the 25th by the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Juliano de Carvalho Lima, during a meeting with coordinators of 54 social organizations contemplated in the first phase of the call. Initiatives ranging from R$ 150,000 to R$ 500,000 will be financed, focused on food security, education, mental health, work and income, communication and popular information on health and the promotion of sustainable and healthy territories.
In the first call made under the plan, R$ 5.5 million were invested in actions in eight municipalities in the state. The new phase of the Public Call will include projects operating in the capital city's slums and in the municipalities of Angra dos Reis, Barra Mansa, Cabo Frio, Campos dos Goytacazes, Cardoso Moreira, Duque de Caxias, Itaboraí, Itaperuna, Macaé, Magé, Mangaratiba, Maricá, Niterói, Nova Friburgo, Nova Iguaçu, Paraty, Petrópolis, Piraí, Quatis, Queimados, Resende, São Gonçalo, São João de Meriti, Seropédica and Volta Redonda. Under the scope of the new subsidy, of 13.6 million, R$ 1.5 million will be earmarked for the selection of 31 more social organizations in a second Public Call to be announced in September of this year. In November 2023, at least R$ 130,000 is expected to be earmarked for projects focused on health actions in the slums in order to give continuity to already supported actions that have potential for replicability. For 2025, a public notice will be issued to promote research focused on health in the slums for Universities and Research Institutes, totaling R$ 900,000. Additional R$ 165,000 will finance the preparation of an integrated plan for communication and information on health in the slums. The amount of R$ 200,000 are also planned for training professionals who work in primary care with a focus on health in the slums.
The 40 new organizations called for will receive guidelines to implement the partnership at a meeting with the Plan's managers on June 7th. According to Juliano de Carvalho Lima, the second phase of the Public Call for the Fiocruz Plan for Tackling COVID-19 in the slums of Rio de Janeiro comes to further consolidate the partnership established by the Foundation with civil society during the height of the health crisis, in 2020: “This is a project that was launched at the most critical time of the Covid-19 pandemic and has shown results. Although Covid-19 is a minor risk at the moment, it is essential that we maintain partnerships with social organizations in the slums because new health demands arise in these territories in the post-pandemic moment. And these organizations are the ones that confront it on the front lines and are aware of the real demands of the most vulnerable population. That is why it is so important for us to ensure the continuity of this partnership”, emphasizes Juliano.
During the meeting with the coordinators of 54 social organizations considered in the first phase of the Public Call, held on the last 25th, a schedule was presented for the grant of the subsidy of R$ 13.6 million in actions staggered until January 2025. The transfer of R$ 9.05 million to the 40 approved projects that had not yet been called for will be made in five installments, starting in August of this year and ending in the same month in 2024. Advisor for Institutional Relations at Fiocruz, Valber Frutuoso points to the relevance of continuing investments: “This project is no longer a pilot project and now serves as a model for health promotion in the outskirts, not only of Rio de Janeiro but throughout Brazil. We can see this through the relationship we are establishing with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Cities. This is recognition of all the work that has been done.”
Source: Fiocruz News Agency (AFN).
