Pandemic boosts the creation of a network of Portuguese charity hospitals in Brazil

The difficulties faced by health units during the coronavirus pandemic were the impetus that was needed to get off the ground the creation of a network of Portuguese charity hospitals in Brazil, many founded over a hundred years ago by philanthropic societies linked to Portuguese immigrants.

The project memorandum, nicknamed “Portugal Health in Brazil”, was signed just over two weeks ago, during a visit by Portuguese authorities to Brasília. In the coming months, a plan will be drawn up so that institutions can help each other, in addition to relying on more structured support from Portugal.

Eleven Portuguese charities – there are more than 20 in Brazil – joined the network, such as Santa Casa de Piracicaba and Sociedade Portuguesa Beneficente do Amazonas. On the Portuguese side, the project is also signed by Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Lisbon and the Health and Foreign Affairs portfolios.

The expectation, report those involved, is that the network can facilitate tasks such as joint purchases, contact with Portuguese companies and the transfer of patients to charities with greater specialization in certain areas. The partnership with Portugal can also enable research projects and exchange of professionals between countries.

“For Portugal, it is also advantageous to get to know these institutions better and, in many cases, Portuguese professionals may be interested in internships in charities and better understand the Brazilian reality in the area of ​​health”, says Berta Nunes, Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, area of the Portuguese government focused on the Portuguese diaspora around the world.

Four key areas should guide the network’s work: access to supplies and investments; teaching and research; corporate management and telehealth. Thematic groups were formed so that, soon, a concrete action plan could be presented to Lisbon, aiming at strengthening the sustainability of Portuguese charities and improving the service provided to the population.

One of the network’s signatory institutions is the Benemérita Sociedade Portuguesa Beneficente do Pará, located in the capital Belém. Founded 167 years ago, in 1854, the entity had the initial objective of providing assistance to the Portuguese in the region. Today, he manages the D. Luiz 1º Hospital, which has the seal of a child-friendly medical center, granted by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund).

About 67% of care in the unit are for the SUS (Unified Health System), according to general practitioner Vitor Mateus, responsible for the governance of care at the hospital. There are 274 beds, around 1,100 admissions and 500 highly complex surgeries per month. The São João de Deus hospital will soon be inaugurated, with which the Pará charity hopes to become the largest philanthropic hospital in the North region.

The health crisis has posed challenges, in particular to access basic supplies for the treatment of patients with Covid-19. The charity from Pará managed to import medicines from Portugal and Italy and, in May, began to point out to the Portuguese embassy the positive points that a network would bring. “By uniting, we would be stronger, and the pandemic was the driving force behind this union”, says Mateus.

Secretary Berta Nunes adds that the crisis acted as a warning for Portugal, which understood the need to strengthen the charities installed in Brazil – which are independent. The country is the only one in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) with institutions of this type, which work with the public network and have, in its genesis, philanthropy. “In Angola and Mozambique we have groups of professionals who have created clinics and hospitals, but they are private.”

The Portuguese government has made bilateral donations of vaccine doses to help Portuguese-speaking nations fight the pandemic. For Brazil, according to Nunes, 400,000 vaccines were donated.

The focus was concentrated on Palop (Portuguese-speaking African Countries), which have greater difficulty in accessing the immunizing agent. Angola, for example, received 720,000 doses, as did Mozambique (160,000), Guinea-Bissau (100,000), São Tomé and Príncipe (49,000) and Cape Verde (48,000). East Timor received 142,000 doses. The Portugal Health network in Brazil, explains the secretary, remains open to the membership of other Portuguese charities in Brazil.

MEMBERS OF THE NEWLY CREATED ‘PORTUGAL SAÚDE NO BRASIL’ NETWORK

• São Miguel Charitable Association (Porto Alegre, RS)
• Beneficent Portuguese Society of Pará
• Portuguese Assistance Work in Rio de Janeiro
• Royal Hospital Português de Beneficência in Pernambuco
• Royal Portuguese Society of Beneficent of Campinas (SP)
• Royal Portuguese Society of Charity Sixteenth of September (Salvador, BA)
• Santa Casa de Piracicaba
• Portuguese Society of Beneficent of Pelotas (RS)
• Portuguese Society of Beneficent of Ribeirão Preto (SP)
• Portuguese Society of Beneficent of Santos (SP)
• Portuguese Beneficent Society of Amazonas