HISTORY OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN BRAZIL

Although the history of Brazilian Public Health began in 1808, the Ministry of Health was only instituted on July 25, 1953, with Law No. 1920, which deployed the then Ministry of Education and Health in two ministries: Health And Education and Culture. Since its creation, the Ministry has been specifically responsible for the activities of the National Health Department until then, maintaining the same structure that, at the time, was not enough to give the government body the profile Secretariat of State, appropriate to address the important public health problems that exist. In fact, the ministry was limited to legal action and the mere division of health and education activities, previously incorporated into a single ministry. Even though it was the main administrative unit of direct health action of the Government, this function was still distributed by several ministries and municipalities, with the spreading of financial resources and the dispersion of technical personnel, with some being linked to direct administration bodies, others to municipalities and Foundations.

Three years after the establishment of the Ministry, in 1956, the National Department of Rural Endemics was established, whose purpose was to organize and execute the services of investigation and control of malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas' disease, plague, brucellosis, yellow fever and others Endemic diseases in the country, in accordance with technical and administrative

The Oswaldo Cruz Institute preserved its status as an organ of investigation, research and production of vaccines. The National School of Public Health was responsible for the training and improvement of personnel and the former Special Public Health Service was working in the field of demonstration of sanitary techniques and emergency services in need of prompt mobilization, without prejudice to its direct executive action, in the Sanitation and medical-sanitary assistance to the states.

The Ministry of Health underwent several reforms in the structure. It is worth noting the 1974 reform, in which the Secretariats of Health and Medical Assistance were included, becoming the National Secretariat of Health, to reinforce the concept that there was no dichotomy between Public Health and Medical Assistance. In the same year, the Superintendency of Public Health Campaigns (SUCAM) is directly subordi- nated by the Minister of State to enable it to increase its technical and administrative flexibility and to become the first body. Health Coordination was created, comprising five regions: Amazonia, Northeast, Southeast, South and Center-West, with the Federal Health Offices included in these areas subordinated to them. The Federal Health Offices thus failed to integrate top-level bodies. The Coordination of Social Communication is also created as a direct and immediate assistance body of the Minister of State and the Antitoxic Prevention Council, as a collegiate body, directly subordinated to the Minister of State.

From the end of the 1980s onwards, the Federal Constitution of 1988, which determined that it was the duty of the State to guarantee health to the entire population, was created. In 1990, the National Congress approved the Organic Health Law that details the functioning of the System.

Source: Portal Saúde