Basic Sanitation Policy in Brazil: ideas, institutions and challenges in the Twenty-first Century. / Política Pública de Saneamento Básico no Brasil: ideias, instituições e desafios no Século XXI.

This paper describes the challenges currently facing Brazil's basic sanitation sector. The sector's characteristic profitability and dynamism have brought State-run Water & Sewage (W&S) services into the spotlight of the structural reform agenda on the argument that governments do not have the resources necessary to universalize coverage. There is a pattern of W&S services' operating with a surplus, which helps explain the intense dispute in recent years in favour of legal changes to the market position of CESBs and local providers to favour an expanding role for private agents. Converging with the structural reform agenda, Law 14,026, sanctioned on 15 July 2020, made far-reaching changes to the legal framework for sanitation and provided for the State's complete withdrawal from the sector. The new regulatory framework prohibited programme contracts, required tender processes for sanitation service contracts, encouraged regionalization without CESBs, set out national guidelines for States and municipalities to access federal funding and introduced a national regulation regime under the National Waters and Basic Sanitation Agency. The model of cooperation that operates in the SUS could serve as a reference for constructing a social pact in the sector.

Este trabalho aborda os desafios contemporâneos do setor de saneamento básico brasileiro. As características de rentabilidade e dinamismo setorial puseram os serviços estatais de A & E no foco da agenda das reformas estruturais sob o argumento de que os governos não dispõem de recursos necessários para universalizar a cobertura. A agenda da reforma dos serviços de A & E advoga a concessão a empresas privadas da comercialização do abastecimento de água e do tratamento do esgotamento sanitário. Em convergência com esta agenda de reforma estrutural, a aprovação em 15 de julho de 2020 da Lei 14.026 alterou em profundidade o marco legal do saneamento, adotando integralmente a pauta da desestatização do setor. O novo marco regulatório veta o contrato de programa, torna obrigatória a licitação para contratação do serviço de saneamento, estabelece diretrizes nacionais para que estados e municípios acessem recursos federais e institui o regime de regulação nacional por meio da Agência Nacional de Águas e Saneamento Básico. O modelo cooperativo praticado no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) pode servir como referência para a construção de um pacto social no setor.

The institutional capacity of the Health Sector and the response to COVID-19 in a global perspective. / A capacidade institucional do Setor Saúde e a resposta à COVID-19 em perspectiva global.

This study approaches the Global Health Security Index (GHSI) according to the responses to the first cycle of the COVID-19. The GHSI ranks countries' institutional capacity to address biological risks. We analyzed data regarding the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in 50 countries to assess the ability of GHSI to anticipate health risks. The lack of vaccination determined the spread of the COVID-19 in the first cycle of the pandemic in 2020. Country indicators are correlated and demonstrated by descriptive statistics. The clustering method groups countries by similar age composition. The main restriction that can be attributed to the GHSI concerns the preference of biomedical variables for measuring institutional capacity. Our work shows that the pandemic had a significant impact on better-prepared countries, according to the GHSI, to control the spread of diseases and offer more access to health care in 2020. This paper points out that the health sector depended on the cooperation of governments in the adoption of social distancing during the first cycle of the pandemic. The GHSI failed to consider the role of political leaders who challenge severe health risks by vetoing social distancing.

O artigo analisa o Índice da Segurança Sanitária Global (ISSG) à luz das respostas nacionais ao primeiro ciclo da pandemia da COVID-19. O ISSG classifica a capacidade dos países no enfrentamento dos riscos biológicos graves. O artigo examina os dados da pandemia de 50 países para avaliar o poder preditivo do ISSG. A ausência da vacinação determinou difusão da COVID-19 no primeiro ciclo da pandemia em 2020. Os indicadores dos países são correlacionados e demonstrados por estatística descritiva. A metodologia de aglomeração por clusters agrupa os países segundo a similaridade da composição etária. A principal restrição que pode ser atribuída ao ISSG diz respeito ao privilegiamento das variáveis biomédicas para a mensuração da capacidade institucional. O artigo evidencia que, paradoxalmente, o primeiro ciclo da pandemia teve um impacto significativo nos países teoricamente mais preparados, segundo o ISSG, para controlar a disseminação de doenças e oferecer mais acesso à assistência à saúde. O artigo assinala que durante o primeiro ciclo da pandemia, o setor saúde dependeu da cooperação dos governos na adoção do distanciamento social. O ISSG não considerou o papel das lideranças políticas que desafiam o risco sanitário severo por veto às medidas de distanciamento social.

Large-scale implementation of the Family Health Strategy in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: evidence and challenges. / A implantação em larga escala da Estratégia de Saúde da Família na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: evidências e desafios.

The city of Rio de Janeiro has implemented, on a large scale, the model of Social Organizations (OSS) for the management of Primary Health Care (PHC). This option makes the understanding of the city's experience very relevant, especially since, until then, the OSS organizational model had been adopted predominantly in the SUS hospital management. Thus, the experience of PHC development at two conflicting moments of municipal management in relation to the OSS model is analyzed: the implementation and development of the PPPs (2009-2016); and their dismantling (2017-2020). Case Studies, Literature Review and analysis of public data from DATASUS/Ministry of Health were used. It was verified that: the adoption of outsourcing based on OSS can be directly associated with the rapid expansion of PHC in the city and PHC coverage improvement indicators; the diffusion of the OSS model is associated with the high priority given to health expenditures in the municipal budget; the sustainability of the adoption of the OSS model did not depend on the municipality's economic status, but on the government's political choice in the period of 2009 to 2016. The PPP arrangement resulted in important organizational advances, although it did not prevent the veto of the OSS model carried out during the 2017-2020 term.

A cidade do Rio de Janeiro implantou em larga o modelo das Organizações Sociais (OSS) para a gestão da Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS). Esta opção torna a compreensão da experiência da cidade muito relevante, especialmente porque até então o modelo organizacional das OSS tinha sido adotado dominantemente na gestão hospitalar do SUS. Assim, é analisada a experiência de desenvolvimento da APS em dois momentos conflitantes da gestão municipal em relação ao modelo das OSS: a implantação e desenvolvimento das PPP (2009-2016); e o seu desmantelamento (2017-2020). Utilizou-se o Estudo de Caso, Revisão Bibliográfica e análise dos dados públicos do DATASUS/Ministério da Saúde. Identificou-se que: a adoção da terceirização com base nas OSS pode ser diretamente associada à rápida expansão da APS na cidade e a melhoria de indicadores de cobertura da APS; que a difusão do modelo das OSS está associada à alta prioridade dada ao gasto com saúde no orçamento municipal; que a sustentabilidade da adoção do modelo da OSS não foi dependente da condição econômica do município, mas da escolha política do governo no período 2009-2016. O arranjo das PPP produziu avanços organizacionais importantes, mas não impediram o veto ao modelo das OSS levada adiante ao longo da gestão de 2017-2020.

[The Human Capital Index: a challenge for Brazil]. / O Índice de Capital Humano: um desafio para o Brasil.

The article analyzes the Human Capital Index (HCI) proposed by the World Bank in 2018 to evaluate the performance in the health and education sectors of 157 countries. Brazil's situation is compared to societies with institutionalized social protection systems. It reveals that the condition of Brazil in HCI is deficient due to the poor performance of the education sector and the lack of control of violence against young people.

Política Pública de Saneamento Básico no Brasil: ideias, instituições e desafios no Século XXI / Basic Sanitation Policy in Brazil: ideas, institutions and challenges in the Twenty-first Century

Resumo Este trabalho aborda os desafios contemporâneos do setor de saneamento básico brasileiro. As características de rentabilidade e dinamismo setorial puseram os serviços estatais de A & E no foco da agenda das reformas estruturais sob o argumento de que os governos não dispõem de recursos necessários para universalizar a cobertura. A agenda da reforma dos serviços de A & E advoga a concessão a empresas privadas da comercialização do abastecimento de água e do tratamento do esgotamento sanitário. Em convergência com esta agenda de reforma estrutural, a aprovação em 15 de julho de 2020 da Lei 14.026 alterou em profundidade o marco legal do saneamento, adotando integralmente a pauta da desestatização do setor. O novo marco regulatório veta o contrato de programa, torna obrigatória a licitação para contratação do serviço de saneamento, estabelece diretrizes nacionais para que estados e municípios acessem recursos federais e institui o regime de regulação nacional por meio da Agência Nacional de Águas e Saneamento Básico. O modelo cooperativo praticado no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) pode servir como referência para a construção de um pacto social no setor.

Abstract This paper describes the challenges currently facing Brazil's basic sanitation sector. The sector's characteristic profitability and dynamism have brought State-run Water & Sewage (W&S) services into the spotlight of the structural reform agenda on the argument that governments do not have the resources necessary to universalize coverage. There is a pattern of W&S services' operating with a surplus, which helps explain the intense dispute in recent years in favour of legal changes to the market position of CESBs and local providers to favour an expanding role for private agents. Converging with the structural reform agenda, Law 14,026, sanctioned on 15 July 2020, made far-reaching changes to the legal framework for sanitation and provided for the State's complete withdrawal from the sector. The new regulatory framework prohibited programme contracts, required tender processes for sanitation service contracts, encouraged regionalization without CESBs, set out national guidelines for States and municipalities to access federal funding and introduced a national regulation regime under the National Waters and Basic Sanitation Agency. The model of cooperation that operates in the SUS could serve as a reference for constructing a social pact in the sector.

Street-level Bureaucracy and Social Policy in Brazil. / Burocracia pública e política social no Brasil.

This paper describes the Brazilian central government bureaucracy and people with disabilities' access to the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC). This access depends on the Ministry of Social Security bureaucracy's evaluation of the condition of vulnerability. We performed a literature review, analysis of secondary data from time series and cross-sectional data to describe street-level federal bureaucracy. Legal documents and indicators describe the expert evaluation regimen of the Ministry of Social Security (MPS). This paper shows the uneven growth of the number of career public servants of the central government in the last two decades. The Brazilian central government has adopted the international concept of person with disabilities in the evaluation of BPC applicants. Despite this decision, it is shown that the Brazilian central government expanded selectively the career bureaucracy to work in the social area. It was found that the result of the evaluation process was quite strict, favoring applicants in conditions of extreme biomedical vulnerability. Despite adopting the social model, BPC eligibility is tied to medical diagnosis.

O artigo descreve a burocracia do governo central brasileiro e o acesso da pessoa com deficiência ao Benefício de Prestação Continuada (BPC). Este acesso é dependente da avaliação da condição de vulnerabilidade realizada pela burocracia ministerial. Foram utilizadas revisão de literatura e dados secundários de séries de tempo e transversal para descrever a burocracia federal. Documentos legais e indicadores descrevem o regime de avaliação pericial. É demonstrada a evolução desigual no quantitativo da burocracia de carreira do governo central brasileiro nas últimas duas décadas. Resultado: O governo central brasileiro adotou a concepção internacional da pessoa com deficiência na avaliação dos requerentes ao BPC. A despeito dessa decisão, é demonstrado que o governo central brasileiro ampliou seletivamente a burocracia de carreira para atuar na área social. Constou-se que o resultado do processo de avaliação foi bastante severo, favorecendo os requerentes em condição de extrema vulnerabilidade biomédica. A despeito da adoção do modelo social, a elegibilidade ao BPC é subordinada ao diagnóstico médico.

Brazilian healthcare in the context of austerity: private sector dominant, government sector failing. / Austeridade, predominância privada e falha de governo na saúde.

This paper presents the arguments in favor of government intervention in financing and regulation of health in Brazil. It describes the organizational arrangement of the Brazilian health system, for the purpose of reflection on the austerity agenda proposed for the country. Based on the literature in health economics, it discusses the hypothesis that the health sector in Brazil functions under the dominance of the private sector. The categories employed for analysis are those of the national health spending figures. An international comparison of indicators of health expenses shows that Brazilian public spending is a low proportion of total spending on Brazilian health. Expenditure on individuals' health by out-of-pocket payments is high, and this works against equitability. The private health services sector plays a crucial role in provision, and financing. Contrary to the belief put forward by the austerity agenda, public expenditure cannot be constrained because the government has failed in adequate provision of services to the poor. This paper argues that, since the Constitution did not veto activity by the private sector segment of the market, those interests that have the greatest capacity to vocalize have been successful in imposing their preferences in the configuration of the sector.

Mental health care for Brazilian juvenile offenders. / A atenção em saúde mental aos adolescentes em conflito com a lei no Brasil.

This paper analyzes the use of psychoactive drugs by juvenile offenders in Brazil in socio-educational facilities (USEs). It describes the guidelines of the national public policy and the quality of mental healthcare coordination by subnational public governments. This work draws on the hypothesis that USEs vertical governance is associated with the use of psychoactive medication. This is comparative study of two cases in Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais. Data resulted from a sample of medical records and interviews with key informants. The paper shows that vertical governance observed in Rio Grande do Sul is directly associated with high prevalence of mental health disorder diagnosis, use of psychoactive medication and psychiatric medicalization by juvenile offenders deprived of liberty. These findings indicate that sanctions of imprisonment for illegal acts are producing a set of medicalization decisions that undermine juveniles' health rights. The national mental health policy guidelines encourage cautious decisions. Psychotherapies and rehabilitation actions are the advocated first-line interventions. The poor management of the psychopharmacological intervention favors multiple prescriptions.

Expert communities and interest-formation in the Brazilian AIDS program. / Comunidades de especialistas e formação de interesses no programa de aids do Brasil.

This paper examines the role of the Technical Advisory Committee for antiretroviral therapy of the Brazilian AIDS program in mediating the decision-making process of including new antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in the Unified Health System services by the end of the 2000s. We conducted documental analysis and interviews with key informants from the governmental sphere and professionals. The work features the Technical Advisory Committee as an "expert community", defined as a network of individuals with expertise and competence in a particular sphere and whose knowledge is relevant in critical public policy decision areas. It also indicates that the decision-making process for inclusion of antiretroviral drugs in the Brazilian program was incremental, considering the expectations of the innovative leader companies of pharmaceutical market. The work describes thus the results of the interaction of government interests, pharmaceutical industry and experts in the implementation of a relevant international policy. It provides arguments and evidence for understanding the role of expert communities on a sectorial public policy so far analyzed predominantly from the perspective of social movements.

O direito à saúde no Brasil: entre a judicialização e a desjudicialização / The right to health in Brazil: between judicialization and dejudicialization / El derecho a la salud en Brasil: entre judicialización y desjudicialización

Objetivo: demonstrar as configurações da judicialização da saúde e refletir sobre os impasses e possibilidades dessa experiência singular no Brasil. Metodologia: f oi realizada uma revisão da literatura em 113 textos, encontrados em bases de dados de literatura científica, que embasou uma proposta de teoria que estratifica a judicialização da saúde no Brasil em quatro faces: judicialização positiva; judicialização negativa; assessorias técnicas; e desjudicialização. Resultados e discussão: na judicialização positiva, as ações judiciais foram os instrumentos usados para constranger o Judiciário a tomar atitudes para melhorar as políticas públicas; a judicialização negativa representou a desarmonia institucional entre os Poderes do Estado; as assessorias técnicas foram importantes para ampliar cada vez mais as parcerias, principalmente entre o Executivo e Judiciário, para que se busquem meios preventivos para maior equilíbrio de todo o sistema; já a desjudicialização demonstrou que os recursos extrajudiciais também são legítimos para resolver as lides da saúde, o que pode impulsionar a incorporação de novas técnicas ao Poder Judiciário e parcerias com outras instituições. Conclusão: o estudo concluiu que, ao longo dos anos, ocorreu arranjos institucionais diversos para melhor lidar com os problemas que envolvem os efeitos da judicialização da saúde no Brasil, e que há iniciativas embrionárias para consolidar a desjudicialização da saúde, que pode ser considerada uma boa opção para lidar com as demandas judiciais.

Objective: to show the configurations of the judicialization of health and to reflect on the dead ends and possibilities of this unique experience in Brazil. Methods: a literature search was conducted in 113 texts found in scientific literature databases that support a theory proposal that stratifies the judicialization of health in Brazil into four aspects: positive judicialization, negative judicialization, technical advice and de-judicialization. Results and discussion:positive judicialization used lawsuits to force the Judiciary to take action to improve public policies; negative judicialization represented the lack of institutional dialog between state powers; technical advice was important to further develop partnerships, especially between the Executive and Judiciary, so that preventive arrangements are sought for greater balance throughout the system; de-judicialization, on the other hand, showed that non-judicial remedies are also legitimate to solve health problems, which can drive the incorporation of new techniques into the Judiciary and partnerships with other institutions. Conclusion: study concluded that over the years there have been various institutional arrangements to better deal with the issues related to the impact of judicialization of health in Brazil, and that there have been embryonic approaches to consolidating the de-judicialization of health that have been identified as a good option for dealing with lawsuits.

Objetivo: demostrar las configuraciones de la judicialización de la salud y reflexionar sobre los impasses y posibilidades de esta experiencia única en Brasil. Metodología: se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de 113 textos, encontrados en bases de datos de literatura científica, que sustentaron una propuesta teórica que estratifica la judicialización de la salud en Brasil en cuatro aspectos: judicialización positiva; judicialización negativa; Consejo técnico; y desjudicialización. Resultados y discussión: en la judicialización positiva, las demandas fueron los instrumentos utilizados para obligar al Poder Judicial a tomar acciones para mejorar las políticas públicas; la judicialización negativa representó la desarmoníainstitucional entre los Poderes del Estado; las asesorías técnicas fueron importantes para ampliar cada vez más las alianzas, especialmente entre el Poder Ejecutivo y el Poder Judicial, por lo que se buscan medidas preventivas para un mayor equilibrio en todo el sistema; la desjudicialización, por otro lado, demostró que los recursos extrajudiciales también son legítimos para resolver problemas de salud, lo que puede impulsar la incorporación de nuevas técnicas al Poder Judicial y alianzas con otras instituciones. Conclusión: el estudio concluyó que, a lo largo de los años, hubo diferentes arreglos institucionales para enfrentar mejor los problemas relacionados con los efectos de la judicialización de la salud en Brasil, y que existen iniciativas embrionarias para consolidar la desjudicialización de la salud, que pueden ser considerado una buena opción para hacer frente a los juicios.

A avaliação de desempenho da atenção primária: balanço e perspectiva para o programa Previne Brasil / Performance assessment of Primary Health Care: balance and perspective for the 'Previne Brasil' Program

RESUMO Este artigo descreve e analisa a resposta dos governos municipais à diretriz do pagamento por desempenho na Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) no programa Previne Brasil (PB) no triênio 2020-2022. Ao instituir o PB em 2019, o Ministério da Saúde (MS) encaminhou a ruptura com o modelo de financiamento da APS, que era baseado na transferência per capita linear para os municípios e o Distrito Federal. Pela nova política, as transferências financeiras do MS decorreriam da análise dos resultados de sete indicadores de desempenho das equipes de saúde informados no Cadastro Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Saúde. O artigo avalia a resposta dos governos subnacionais nos indicadores definidos pelo PB, utilizando os dados do Sistema de Informação em Saúde para a Atenção Básica do MS. Os municípios demonstraram baixa efetividade em relação aos compromissos de desempenho propostos pela pactuação na Comissão Intergestores Tripartite do PB no triênio investigado. De modo geral, os resultados de cobertura pactuados no PB são excepcionalmente baixos e especialmente indicativos de risco de epidemia por falha nas ações de vacinação. As decisões de implantação do pagamento por desempenho foram reiteradamente postergadas pelo MS, favorecendo a desmobilização dos governos municipais no desenvolvimento das ações de APS.

ABSTRACT This article describes and analyzes the response of municipal governments to the payment-for-performance guideline in Primary Health Care (PHC) in the 'Previne Brasil' (PB) program in the 2020-2022 period. By establishing the PB in 2019, the Ministry of Health (MS) broke with the PHC financing model, which was based on linear per capita transfer to municipalities and the Federal District. Under the new policy, financial transfers from the MS would result from the analysis of the results of seven performance indicators of health teams reported in the National Register of Health Establishments. The article evaluates the response of subnational governments to the indicators defined by the PB, using data from the Health Information System for Primary Care of the Ministry of Health. The municipalities showed low effectiveness in relation to the performance commitments proposed by the tripartite agreement of the PB in the three-year period investigated. In general, the coverage results agreed in PB are exceptionally low and especially indicative of the risk of an epidemic due to failure in vaccination actions. Decisions to implement payment for performance were repeatedly postponed by the MS, favoring the demobilization of municipal governments in the development of PHC actions.

The Family Health Strategy: primary health care and the challenge of Brazilian metropolises. / A Estratégia de Saúde da Família, a atenção primária e o desafio das metrópoles brasileiras.

This article analyzes the development of primary care (PHC) within the Unified Health System (SUS) in large Brazilian cities. The decision to adopt a policy of PHC represented an incremental reform of the health system through the Family Health Strategy (FHS). The methodological approach of the article uses cross-sectional data grouped around two years (2008 and 2012) to evaluate the development of PHC in the cities. The article demonstrates that the funding of the health sector expanded in all Brazilian cities, regardless of population size, in the early 2000s. The growth of municipal health expenditure in terms of public health actions and services helps to explain the high level of provision of family health teams that was observed mainly in small cities in the early 2000s. The analysis of health provision also shows that the provision of family health teams remained relatively stable during the period that was analyzed in most municipalities of medium and large population size, and also in the metropolises. The development of PHC during the studied period reveals that the risk of the over-supply of health services associated with the decentralization of the health sector did not occur in Brazil. The large cities and metropolises underwent a significant, but unequal, expansion of PHC.

A resiliência das grandes cidades brasileiras e a pandemia da Covid-19 / The resilience of large Brazilian cities and the COVID-19 pandemic

RESUMO O objetivo do artigo foi descrever a resiliência do gasto governamental com Ações e Serviços Públicos de Saúde (ASPS) no Brasil durante a pandemia da Covid-19 em 2020. Demonstra-se que o desenvolvimento do setor público de saúde contemporâneo foi baseado no federalismo cooperativo. Nesse contexto, a participação municipal no financiamento foi consolidada em torno do pacto da vinculação orçamentária entre os níveis da federação (governo central, estados e municípios). Com base nos indicadores do Sistema de Informação sobre Orçamento Público de Saúde (Siops)/DataSUS/Ministério da Saúde, descrevem-se o Índice de Vinculação Orçamentária e a resiliência da amostra de 87 municípios com elevada disponibilidade orçamentária. Expõe-se que o governo central retirou o apoio à expansão das despesas com ASPS, estabilizando a alocação de seus recursos por meio do veto à vinculação orçamentária. A mudança de orientação federal transferiu o ônus da expansão do financiamento aos governos municipais e estaduais nas últimas décadas. Conclui-se que a estabilização das despesas federais foi compensada pelo crescimento da vinculação do orçamento municipal com as ASPS. Durante o primeiro ciclo da pandemia da Covid-19, a vinculação orçamentária foi crucial para a expansão do financiamento das ASPS na maioria dos municípios da amostra, possibilitando a condição resiliente.

ABSTRACT This paper aimed to describe the resilience of the Federal Government's fund of Public Health Actions and Services (ASPS) in Brazil during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. It shows that the development of the contemporary public health sector was based on cooperative federalism. In this context, municipal participation in financing was consolidated around the constitutional agreement of budget binding between the levels of the Brazilian federation (Central Government, states, and municipalities). The Budget Binding Index (BBI) and the resilience of the sample of 87 municipalities with a high budget are described from the Public Health Budget Information System (SIOPS) indicators, available at DataSUS/Ministry of Health. The paper shows that the central government withdrew its support for increased ASPS expenditure in the last decade, stabilizing the allocation of its resources through the veto on budget binding. The change in federal orientation shifted the burden of expanding financing to municipal and state governments. The paper concludes that the increase in municipal expenditures offset the stabilization of federal expenditures. Budget binding was crucial to the resilience of ASPS funding in most municipalities in the sample during the first cycle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Basic sanitation policy in Brazil: discussion of a path. / Política de saneamento básico no Brasil: discussão de uma trajetória.

This article demonstrates that the position of dominance enjoyed by state sanitation companies dictates the public policy decision-making process for sanitation in Brazil. These companies' hegemony is explained here through the analysis of a path that generated political and economic incentives that have permitted its consolidation over time. Through the content analysis of the legislation proposed for the sector and the material produced by the stakeholders involved in the approval of new regulations for the sector in 2007, the study identifies the main sources of incentive introduced by the adoption of the National Sanitation Plan, which explain certain structural features of the current sanitation policy and its strong capacity to withstand the innovations proposed under democratic rule.

Social protection and people with disabilities in Brazil. / Proteção social e pessoa com deficiência no Brasil.

The article analyzes the social protection policy for people with disabilities in Brazil. It describes the patterns of demand and eligibility for Continued Benefit of Social Assistance (Benefício de Prestação Continuada - BPC) in the 1996-2014 period. The article argues that BPC is a direct result of the social pact achieved by the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988. BPC is a social assistance benefit consisting in an unconditional and monthly transference of the equivalent of a minimum wage, to poor people with deficiency and elders with more than 65 years. Disabled person eligibility depends on means-test, and social and medical evaluation by public bureaucracy. The research strategy was based on time series, and cross-sectional data collection and analysis. Dummy qualitative variables were also used to describe the pattern of demand and eligibility. The article demonstrates that BPC has provided income to disabled and elder people. However, systematic barriers were identified to disabled people's access to BPC. The work suggests that the pattern of refusal could be associated to a means testing application by street-level-bureaucracy. In this sense, the work draws attention to the necessary revision of street-level-bureaucracy tools and procedures to increase BPC positive discrimination.

A capacidade institucional do Setor Saúde e a resposta à COVID-19 em perspectiva global / The institutional capacity of the Health Sector and the response to COVID-19 in a global perspective

Resumo O artigo analisa o Índice da Segurança Sanitária Global (ISSG) à luz das respostas nacionais ao primeiro ciclo da pandemia da COVID-19. O ISSG classifica a capacidade dos países no enfrentamento dos riscos biológicos graves. O artigo examina os dados da pandemia de 50 países para avaliar o poder preditivo do ISSG. A ausência da vacinação determinou difusão da COVID-19 no primeiro ciclo da pandemia em 2020. Os indicadores dos países são correlacionados e demonstrados por estatística descritiva. A metodologia de aglomeração por clusters agrupa os países segundo a similaridade da composição etária. A principal restrição que pode ser atribuída ao ISSG diz respeito ao privilegiamento das variáveis biomédicas para a mensuração da capacidade institucional. O artigo evidencia que, paradoxalmente, o primeiro ciclo da pandemia teve um impacto significativo nos países teoricamente mais preparados, segundo o ISSG, para controlar a disseminação de doenças e oferecer mais acesso à assistência à saúde. O artigo assinala que durante o primeiro ciclo da pandemia, o setor saúde dependeu da cooperação dos governos na adoção do distanciamento social. O ISSG não considerou o papel das lideranças políticas que desafiam o risco sanitário severo por veto às medidas de distanciamento social.

Abstract This study approaches the Global Health Security Index (GHSI) according to the responses to the first cycle of the COVID-19. The GHSI ranks countries' institutional capacity to address biological risks. We analyzed data regarding the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in 50 countries to assess the ability of GHSI to anticipate health risks. The lack of vaccination determined the spread of the COVID-19 in the first cycle of the pandemic in 2020. Country indicators are correlated and demonstrated by descriptive statistics. The clustering method groups countries by similar age composition. The main restriction that can be attributed to the GHSI concerns the preference of biomedical variables for measuring institutional capacity. Our work shows that the pandemic had a significant impact on better-prepared countries, according to the GHSI, to control the spread of diseases and offer more access to health care in 2020. This paper points out that the health sector depended on the cooperation of governments in the adoption of social distancing during the first cycle of the pandemic. The GHSI failed to consider the role of political leaders who challenge severe health risks by vetoing social distancing.

[Inter-municipal health consortia: the case of Paraná State, Brazil]. / Consórcios Intermunicipais de Saúde: o caso do Paraná, Brasil.

Inter-municipal health consortia emerged in Brazil's Unified National Health System (SUS) policy in the late 1980s. Municipal health administrators adhered to this strategy with the aim of upgrading health services supplied to the population. This research analyzes the profile of such consortia in Paraná State, focusing on specialized medical care. Data were obtained from reports by the State Health Council and questionnaires sent to all 20 existing municipal health consortia. Governmental Decree no. 1,101 and data published in 2000 on the profile of the health system in Paraná were used as references. Of the 399 municipalities in Paraná State, 81.5% have joined municipal consortia. Specialists are allocated by municipalities (4.4%), the State government (13.6%), or Federal Government (12.8%); another 69.2% are hired by the consortia themselves. The supply of consultations with specialists is either insufficient or inadequately distributed, and there are flaws in the referral and counter-referral system. Municipal health consortia serve as viable instrument for expanding and increasing the capacity of municipalities to supply specialized care, although there is a need for well-defined criteria, planning, and improving of the referral and counter-referral system.

Federalism, the economic-industrial health care complex and high-cost pharmaceutical assistance in Brazil.

Brazil has a relevant, although relatively unknown, special medicines programme that distributes high-cost products, such as drugs needed for cancer treatments. In 2009, the purchase of these medicines became the responsibility of the Brazilian Federal Government. Until then, there were no clear norms regarding the responsibilities, in terms of the management/financing of these medicines, of the Brazilian Federal Government and of the states themselves. This qualitative study analyses the policy process needed to transfer this programme to the central government. The study examines the reports of the Tripartite Commission between 2000 and 2012, and in-depth interviews with eleven key informants were conducted. The study demonstrates that throughout the last decade, institutional changes have been made in regard to the federal management of these programmes (such as recentralisation of the purchasing of medicines). It concludes that these changes can be explained because of the efficiency of the coordinating mechanisms of the Federal Government. These findings reinforce the idea that the Ministry of Health is the main driver of public health policies, and it has opted for the recentralisation of activities as a result of the development project implicit in the agenda of the Industrial and Economic Heal.