Basic Sanitation and Health - Challenges and Perspectives in Brazil and Brazilian Federal District

Basic sanitation has been considered an important environmental determinant of health. Mainly related to the services of drinking water availability, solid waste management, sanitation problems are aggravated by the unplanned growth of urban centers, affecting an important part of the total disease burden in the world. The Sanitation Ranking prepared by the Trata Brazil Institute (2020) was used as the basis for the studies presented here taking into account the data from the SNIS (National Sanitation Information System – Ministry of Regional Development, Brazil), which were consulted for the 100 largest Brazilian municipalities, in terms of inhabitants, in the year 2018. 27 out of the 100 largest municipalities in Brazil have 100% total water service, that is, they have universal water service. Only one municipality has 100% sewage collection (Piracicaba –SP). 14 municipalities have a sewage collection rate greater than or equal to 98%. The average indicator of sewage treatment in the municipalities is 56.07%, that is very worrying. According to SNIS 2018, the national average for the treatment of generated sewage is 46.3%; that is, the average of the 100 largest municipalities in the study is higher than the national average. However, in both cases, the indicator is at a very low level, pointing to an area whose challenges to be overcome are great. The Brazilian capital’ city (Brasilia, Federal District of Brazil) in the sanitation is ranked 27th among Brazilian capitals based on data from the National Sanitation Information System (2018). The new Basic Sanitation Legal Framework, signed on July 15, 2020 has as its main objective to universalize and qualify the provision of services in the sector. The Federal Government’s goal is to achieve universal access by 2033, ensuring that 99% of the Brazilian population has access to drinking water and 90% to sewage collection and treatment. The expectation is that the universalization of water and sewage services will reduce annual health costs by up to 290 million USD

Conservation units, ecological attributes and their implications: The case of the Park and EPA of the Pireneus - GO

The Environmental Protection Area of Pirineus (EPA) extends over 22,800 hectares around Pireneus Park - GO Park, bordering the cities of Pirenópolis, Cocalzinho de Goiás and mountainous areas of Corumbá de Goiás. The aim of the study was to verify if the municipalities bordering the EPA of  Pirineus have benefited from these protected areas, providing local growth and development. This is a bibliographical, qualitative and documentary research. The satellite images Landsat-5 e Landsat-8 extracted from the catalog at Inpe's General Imaging Division, were used to the  classification of land use and occupation in EPA, and to characterize the impact of the area were used the method of Oldekop et al. The results are presented descriptively and analytically. The creation of the Conservation Units of Pirineus, in addition to changing the socio-cultural context of the region, contributed to the population growth on average 11,46%, the displacement of this to rural area in 27% in Cocalzinho, a 51% average increase in per capita income and an increase in development rates, such as a 30% increase in the HDI.A Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA) dos Pireneus se estende por 22.800 hectares ao redor do Parque dos Pireneus - GO, margeando as cidades de Pirenópolis, Cocalzinho de Goiás e áreas serranas de Corumbá de Goiás. O objetivo do estudo foi verificar se os municípios limítrofes à APA dos Pireneus têm se beneficiado dessas unidades de conservação proporcionando crescimento e desenvolvimento local. Esta é uma pesquisa bibliográfica, qualitativa e documental. Fez uso das imagens de satélite Landsat-5 e Landsat-8 extraídas do catálogo na Divisão Geral de Imagens do Inpe para a classificação do uso e ocupação do solo na APA, e para caracterização do impacto da área usou-se o método de Oldekop e colaboradores. Os resultados são apresentados de maneira descritiva e analítica. A criação das Unidades de Conservação dos Pireneus, além de mudar o contexto sociocultural da região, contribuiu para o crescimento da população em média de 11,46%, o deslocamento desta para área rural em 27% em Cocalzinho, aumento médio de 51% da renda per capita e elevação de índices de desenvolvimento, como aumento do IDH em 30%

Systematic review and meta-analysis of bovine cysticercosis in Brazil : current knowledge and way forward

Background Taenia saginata taeniosis/cysticercosis has been well studied in several countries. Brazil is one of the most important beef exporting countries and has one of the highest cattle population size in the world. In this country, bovine cysticercosis (BCC) remains the most frequent reported zoonosis detected during post-mortem inspection, resulting in costs for the beef sector and public health. We performed a systematic literature review regarding data about BCC epidemiology in Brazil and meta-analyses for its prevalence in different administrative regions and the distribution over time, and based on this discussed possible control strategies. Methods A systematic review was conducted to obtain data about BCC in Brazil using the words "bovine cysticercosis" and "Brazil" to construct the search phrase. The inclusion criteria used to select articles were: (i) published from 2000 to 2018; (ii) full text available online in Portuguese or English; and (iii) contain information at least regarding one of the following aspects of BCC in Brazil: prevalence, incidence, spatial distribution, risk-factors, economic burden and measures for control. Results A set of 42 articles was included, covering the prevalence of BCC in Brazil, ranging between 0.01-18.75%. Prevalence results of 40 articles were included in a meta-analysis per administrative region. The highest prevalence was found in the South (3.4%; 95% CI: 2.0-5.2%), followed by the Southeast (2.7%; 95% CI: 1.9-3.6%), Northeast (1.5%; 95% CI: 0.6-2.7%), Central-western (0.9%; 95% CI: 0.3-1.7%) and North (0.0%; 95% CI: 0.0-0.6%) region. In addition, a reduction in prevalence over time was observed in all the evaluated states except for Alagoas and Para. Conclusions Besides the large availability of data, a critical lack of information about BCC epidemiology remains in Brazil. Nevertheless, the available data on prevalence, high risk-areas and risk factors should contribute to a better understanding of transmission and the formulation of recommendations for control. A One Health approach will be required to reduce T. saginata taeniosis/cysticercosis prevalence and the consequent economic burden for the beef sector in Brazil, one of the most important beef exporters in the world

Conservation units, ecological attributes and their implications: The case of the Park and EPA of the Pireneus - GO

The Environmental Protection Area of Pirineus (EPA) extends over 22,800 hectares around Pireneus Park - GO Park, bordering the cities of Pirenópolis, Cocalzinho de Goiás and mountainous areas of Corumbá de Goiás. The aim of the study was to verify if the municipalities bordering the EPA of  Pirineus have benefited from these protected areas, providing local growth and development. This is a bibliographical, qualitative and documentary research. The satellite images Landsat-5 e Landsat-8 extracted from the catalog at Inpe's General Imaging Division, were used to the  classification of land use and occupation in EPA, and to characterize the impact of the area were used the method of Oldekop et al. The results are presented descriptively and analytically. The creation of the Conservation Units of Pirineus, in addition to changing the socio-cultural context of the region, contributed to the population growth on average 11,46%, the displacement of this to rural area in 27% in Cocalzinho, a 51% average increase in per capita income and an increase in development rates, such as a 30% increase in the HDI

Regional social progress index of Goiás - Brazil / Índice regional de progresso social de Goiás - Brasil

The Social Progress Index (SPI) measures the extent to which countries meet the social and environmental needs of their citizens. Composed by the dimensions ‘Basic Human Needs’, ‘Foundations of Well-Being’, and ‘Opportunities’, the SPI is a set of indicators that allow a granular analysis of the fundamentals of Social Progress currently reaching 168 countries. In this article we analyze the results for the calculation of the Social Progress Index for all municipalities in the State of Goiás – Brazil. The calculation methodology applied is based on the same used by ‘Social Progress Imperative’, for the SPI calculations at national levels. After obtaining and evaluating the results, it was found that the work presented internal inconsistencies, many of them derived from the inadequate adaptation of proxies initially designed for national levels, but which were not suitable for the subnational level. There are still others due to the lack of abundant information for the municipalities in more recent and similar periods, due to the limitation of having some existing data only according to the Brazilian census of 2010. Even so, the difficulties encountered in the adaptations and the analysis of the results generated a extraordinary wealth of methodological alternatives for future work.

The role of the ecological fiscal transfers for water conservation policies

The purpose of this chapter is to fill the lacuna found in the literature with regard to describing the role of EFTs for water conservation policies. The literature tells us that ecological fiscal transfers (EFTs) are analysed so to pursue biodiversity conservation policies and solid waste management (SWM). For biodiversity conservation policies, EFTs have two purposes: (1) to incentivize municipalities to create local protected areas (PA); and (2) to compensate municipalities for corresponding land-use restrictions. In the case of SWM, the main idea is that, even considering the fees paid by the households, it is still costly to maintain waste services in the municipal territories. In this context, EFTs are appealing policy instrument to help local governments create landfills or composting plants. However, in Brazil EFTs are functioning as a policy instrument which also includes a wide range of policy domains, such as water conservation, indigenous land, fire-control, and so on. Six states adopted EFTs specifically for water conservation policies: Goiás, Paraná, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, and Tocantins. Descriptive analyses, focusing on legislative differences are conducted for each of these states.(undefined

Market-base solutions to manage the Guarani Aquifer: Pigouvian Fee and Cap-and-Trade

The objective of this case-study is to analyze the effects and the perception of different groups in possibly implementing market-based approaches of Pigouvian tax and Cap-and-Trade to manage the Guarani Aquifer, Brazil. The Pigouvian Tax is a corrective taxation that assigns a price for the negative impacts water consumption creates to aquifers, as a way to influence a more sustainable level of water consumption. Cap-and-Trade sets a maximum quantity of water allowed to be used from aquifers, and allow economic agents to trade quantities of water they have the right to use, as a way to adapt to the cap. As methods of analysis, the case study combines quantitative data, economic theory, as well as political and sociological analysis. The case-study emphasizes that the current regulatory system of Guarani’s management is not guided towards the efficient level of water consumption, which may negatively impact the environment and economic resources. As a way to improve efficiency of water allocation from the Guarani and mitigate the already apparent environmental impacts, the instruments of Pigouvian Tax and Cap-and-Trade could be possible policy solutions. The case-study also outlines the perceptions of different societal sectors to the creation of market-based approaches to govern Guarani’s water resources, in terms of their risk perceptions. Broader discourses that were used in previous attempts to establish other water management instruments were described as an attempt to correlate these to a possible implementation of Pigouvian Tax or Cap-and-Trade to manage water use from the Guarani Aquifer. Overall, the analysis inferred that several groups could perceive a Pigouvian Tax positively because it could foster a more rational use of water and protect the Guarani. However, some groups may be against a Pigouvian Tax for fearing a lack of predictability in the cost of production, as well as the fear it could increase inequality in low-income groups’ access to water. In terms of a Cap-and-Trade, most groups may perceive negatively the implementation of such approach. This is mainly related to the fact that it would completely change the regulatory system to access water, which could be interpreted as privatizing water access

COVID-19 RESPONSE MEASURES IN BRAZILIAN STATES:: LEGISLATIVE AND JOURNALISTIC APPROACH

State governors had to take restrictive measures to prevent Covid-19 from advancing with the arrival of the disease in Brazil. According to the Constitution, states and municipalities can define more restrictive laws to those instituted at the Federal level. Thus, the present objective is to analyze the measures adopted by each Brazilian state to combat the new coronavirus. As a methodology, the state laws in force and the strategies implemented during the evolution of the disease were identified through journalistic articles. As main results, the dismissal of employees belonging to the risk group and the suspension of classes, events, and non-essential commerce, are measures adopted by all regions of the country. However, in May, the easing of these measures was identified, causing a setback in terms of preventing new contamination. It is understood that the main reason for easing is related to the pressures suffered in the economy. It is concluded that social isolation is still the most effective strategy identified in different countries, and that the easing of restrictive measures may result in the collapse of the health system. Consequently, the easing may worsen the situation of the economy, in view of the rapid increase in cases of Covid-19 in Brazil, which already exceeds 500 thousand cases

Regional Inequalities on Health Services Supply: An Analysis for Brazil, 2002

Latin American Studie

SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS OF TOCANTINS STATE, BRAZIL, A PERIPHERAL REGION OF AMAZON

This study primary aimed to analyze the socioeconomic development indicators in Tocantins State, a peripheral region of Amazon, related to the first decade of this century. The used data are from Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística-IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), Tocantins State, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  Data are related to birth rate, gross death rate, infant death rate, Human Development Index (HDI), literacy rate, fertility rate, per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Results suggest that the Tocantins State occupies the median position in socioeconomic development in the Brazilian North region, having shown progress in some indicators, but still has a long way for reaching satisfactory standard of economic developmen