The ministry said it did not see “a suitable profile for the role”. Bodies such as the SBPC classified the action as ‘ideological’ and came out in defense of Deisy Ventura, who criticized the progress of federal management in the pandemic
RIO – The Ministry of Health vetoed the appointment of the name of the USP researcher Margherita Ventura to integrate the committee that will update the International Health Regulations (IHR), one of the most important of the World Health Organization (WHO). In a note, the ministry merely stated that “it was consulted about the professional’s indication and felt that it was not the appropriate profile for the role”.
Deisy Ventura is a professor of ethics at the USP Faculty of Public Health. There he coordinates the undergraduate program in global health and sustainability. She is also a professor in the postgraduate program at the USP Institute of International Relations. She had a strong public presence during the covid-19 pandemic.
The specialist is the coordinator of the only working group in the country on IHR reform. It is made up of professionals from USP and Fiocruz.
The main objective of the WHO committee is to offer technical advice to the director general of the organization in the event of a “public health emergency of international interest”. The committee starts working as early as next week.
At least three bodies related to science and public health have criticized the decision of the Ministry of Health. The Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), the Faculty of Public Health of the USP and the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (Abrasco) have accused the government of acting against the interests of the country.
“By contrasting the name of the researcher without providing explanations, the Ministry of Health acts in a purely ideological way while the WHO tries to choose among the most qualified personalities for their technical competence”, states the note from SBPC and Abrasco.
The university also manifested itself. “Professor Deisy has played an exceptional role in addressing the covid-19 pandemic, making an invaluable contribution to social protection,” the USP note emphasizes. “The projection of her as academic leadership motivated WHO’s invitation to participate in the all-important mission to review international health regulations. The unjustified veto (…) puts the country to shame on a global level”.
In early 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Deisy Ventura’s team published a study, according to which President Jair Bolsonaro opted for the strategy of obtaining herd immunity as soon as possible through the intentional spread of the virus. For this reason, the president has been slow in buying vaccines, defended ineffective treatments and boycotted policies of social isolation, the expert said.
“Our study shows that there is a systematic plan for the spread of the coronavirus in Brazil promoted by the federal government for electoral and economic reasons,” said the researcher in an interview with Estadio at the time of the release of the work.
To reach this conclusion, the group analyzed 3,049 federal pandemic-related regulations produced in 2020. It also studied the president’s public speeches. The study had great international repercussions. And he supported an impeachment request against Bolsonaro for a crime of responsibility.
“He is a highly qualified person,” said SBPC President Renato Janine Ribeiro. “But she is one of the authors of the work who claims that the president has contributed on purpose to the increase in the number of deaths from covid-19”.
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Source: Terra
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