Brazil plunges into “humanitarian catastrophe” due to coronavirus

Brazil is experiencing a “humanitarian catastrophe” due to the “failed” response of the government of Jair Bolsonaro to the pandemic, denounced the organization Médecins sans frontières (MSF). And he called for centralized coordination to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

“We are extremely concerned about what is happening in Brazil. It is alarming,” MSF international president Christos Christou said at a video conference press conference he attended. Bugle.

MSF, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, warned that the “lack of political will” It is claiming the lives of thousands of people in Brazil, where the virus has already claimed more than 365,000 lives and more than 13.7 million confirmed cases since the crisis began just over a year ago.

Brazil is the second country with the most deaths from covid-19, after the United States. And the curve of cases and deaths continues uncontrolled.

The information provided by Dr Christou and the panelists was decisive: last week, Brazil recorded 11% of new Covid-19 infections worldwide, as well as 26.2% of confirmed deaths from the disease.

On April 8, 4,249 deaths from Covid-19 were recorded in the country in just 24 hours, along with 86,652 new infections. The data is contained in the official press release provided by Médecins sans frontières after the press conference.

MSF experts also spoke of the unacceptable number of infections and deaths suffered by Brazil, and referred to the “clear evidence of the inability of the authorities to manage the crisis humanitarian and public health service that crosses the country and to protect Brazilians from the virus, especially the most vulnerable ”.

Public health and political war

Dr Christou himself said: “Public health measures have become a political battlefield in Brazil. As a result, science-based policies are constantly interspersed with political opinions, rather than focusing on the need to protect people and their communities from Covid-19. “

According to the expert, “Brazil’s federal government has refused to adopt comprehensive evidence-based public health measures, leaving the responsibility in the hands of the country’s dedicated medical staff, who are doing all they can to do. advance those who struggle between life and death. in crowded intensive care units who are forced to improvise solutions when there are no more beds available ”.

This has led the country to a “permanent state of mourning” and “the collapse of the country’s health system,” added Christou.

Vaccines

-What contribution have the Butantan Institute (which has an agreement to produce the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine) and Fiocruz (which makes the AstraZeneca vaccine) make to fight the pandemic in Brazil?, I ask Bugle.

Infectious disease specialist Antonio Flores took the floor and spoke about the importance of these Brazilian institutes in terms of provide a large amount of data about the pandemic.

“This is what we need, a response driven by science and for this information to be made public,” said Flores.

At the same time, the continuing efforts of doctors, nurses and all health personnel to deal with the situation are standing out, but without a central plan supported by the national government, all these efforts are insufficient.

For her part, the general director of the MSF operational center in Brussels, Meinie Nicolai, was conclusive: “Political will is lacking to control this pandemic, ”he said.

“MSF has contacted the government (of Brazil) to immediately implement a coordinated response plan on Covid-19, which must include a clear public health guide to prevent the spread of the epidemic and a plan of sufficient coordinated resources to support health establishments that receive patients, ”said Pierre Van Heddegem, emergency coordinator in Brazil.

The lack of a plan

“Brazil has the capacity and the resources to better control this pandemic and it is unacceptable that basic public health measures are not yet in force due to the lack of political will,” said Antonio Flores. And he added: “And not doing it costs lives. But acting now can save lives.”

MSF experts also criticized “the lack of screening capacity”, which has caused many patients to arrive at the hospital with an already advanced stage of the disease.

And what further complicated the situation was “the large number of contradictory messages being sent to the population by different levels of authority,” Van Heddegem said.

“In Brazil, the one diagnosed with Covid-19 means death.” Antonio Flores’ sentence shivers. But it is based on the reality of the numbers that haunt the country.

Delayed vaccination

In turn, during his presentation, he stressed the need for more vaccines to reduce the contagion curve and give a break to the already saturated Brazilian health system. “But the vaccine rollout in Brazil has been slower than expected and the coverage has been less than what Brazil could actually achieve,” Flores continued.

“Médecins sans frontières (MSF) calls on the Brazilian authorities to urgently recognize the gravity of the crisis and to set up a central system of coordination and response to Covid-19”, indicates the official statement of the NGO.

“It’s not just about getting medical supplies like oxygen, sedatives and PPE where it’s needed. The use of chinstrap, physical distancing, strict hygiene measures and the restriction of movement and non-essential activities in the community must also be promoted and implemented among citizens, ”said the Director General of MSF operational center in Brussels, Meinie Nicolai.

-What could happen if Brazil couldn’t stop the pandemic? asked this log.

“It’s hard to say how much infections will increase,” replied Nicolai. “But with that, there will be more pressure on the health services because we will have more seriously ill people. And it will lead to another collapse in health care. And yes, probably increasing the number of deaths, ”he concluded.

CB