Twenty-first-century demographic and social inequalities of heat-related deaths in Brazilian urban areas.

Population exposure to heat waves (HWs) is increasing worldwide due to climate change, significantly affecting society, including public health. Despite its significant vulnerabilities and limited adaptation resources to rising temperatures, South America, particularly Brazil, lacks research on the health impacts of temperature extremes, especially on the role played by socioeconomic factors in the risk of heat-related illness. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the effects of HWs on mortality rates in the 14 most populous urban areas, comprising approximately 35% of the country's population. Excess mortality during HWs was estimated through the observed-to-expected ratio (O/E) for total deaths during the events identified. Moreover, the interplay of intersectionality and vulnerability to heat considering demographics and socioeconomic heterogeneities, using gender, age, race, and educational level as proxies, as well as the leading causes of heat-related excess death, were assessed. A significant increase in the frequency was observed from the 1970s (0-3 HWs year-1) to the 2010s (3-11 HWs year-1), with higher tendencies in the northern, northeastern, and central-western regions. Over the 2000-2018 period, 48,075 (40,448-55,279) excessive deaths were attributed to the growing number of HWs (>20 times the number of landslides-related deaths for the same period). Nevertheless, our event-based surveillance analysis did not detect the HW-mortality nexus, reinforcing that extreme heat events are a neglected disaster in Brazil. Among the leading causes of death, diseases of the circulatory and respiratory systems and neoplasms were the most frequent. Critical regional differences were observed, which can be linked to the sharp North-South inequalities in terms of socioeconomic and health indicators, such as life expectancy. Higher heat-related excess mortality was observed for low-educational level people, blacks and browns, older adults, and females. Such findings highlight that the strengthening of primary health care combined with reducing socioeconomic, racial, and gender inequalities represents a crucial step to reducing heat-related deaths.

Emergência em saúde pública por inundações: a atuação do Ministério da Saúde em ocorrências no Brasil de 2004 a 2017 / Emergency in public health caused by floods: the Ministry of Health actions in occurrences in Brazil, from 2004 to 2017

RESUMO Este artigo teve por objetivos contextualizar os impactos das inundações na saúde e analisar relatórios do Centro de Operações de Emergência em Saúde, mobilizados pelo Ministério da Saúde (MS), para monitoramento federal desses eventos no Brasil, de 2004 a 2017. Para isso, foi realizado levantamento bibliográfico e documental, incluindo relatórios do MS sobre inundações, e feita análise de dados do Sistema Integrado de Informações sobre Desastres, da Defesa Civil, no referido período. Verificou-se que as inundações atingiram todas as regiões brasileiras, com eventos críticos em 2004, 2009, 2010 e 2011. O MS atuou em nove ocorrências, e essa experiência subsidiou o estabelecimento da estratégia de preparação e resposta, incluindo Comitês de Saúde em Desastres, documentos e normativas para orientar a atividade do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) na atuação em desastres hidrológicos. Inundações de grande magnitude exigem resposta rápida, e isso prescinde de preparação prévia. O MS avançou nas articulações intersetoriais e interinstitucionais, no entanto, dotar o SUS municipal da capacidade necessária para atuação oportuna apresenta-se ainda como um desafio a ser superado.

ABSTRACT The objective of this article is to contextualize the impacts of floods on health and to analyze reports from the Emergency Health Operations Center, mobilized by the Ministry of Health (MS), for the federal monitoring of these events in Brazil, between 2004 and 2017. For such, a bibliographical and documentary survey was carried out, including MS reports on floods and data analysis of the Integrated Disaster Information System, from the Civil Defense, from 2004 to 2017. It was verified that floods reached all Brazilian regions, with critical events in 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The MS worked in nine occurrences and this experience subsidized the establishment of the preparedness and response strategy, including Health in Disaster Committees, documents, and regulations to guide the SUS's (Unified Health System) action in hydrological disasters. Floods of great magnitude require rapid response and this does not require prior preparation. The MS has advanced in inter-sectorial and interinstitutional articulations, however, providing the municipal SUS with the necessary capacity for timely action is still a challenge to be overcome.