Brazil Advances Healthcare Access for Indigenous and Quilombola Communities with Medical Campaign and Digital Integration
Brazil enhances healthcare access for Indigenous and Quilombola populations through a major medical campaign and implementation of a national health data integration platform.
- • HU/Ufal's Mutirão de Saúde Indígena e Quilombola provided 110 health services in Alagoas, including 96 consultations and 14 exams.
- • The national initiative delivered 2,298 services to Indigenous and Quilombola populations, aiming to reduce SUS system backlogs.
- • RNDS digital platform in Maranhão integrates patient data, improving healthcare efficiency and accessibility.
- • Future health campaigns are planned to sustain support for these marginalized communities.
Key details
On November 8, 2025, the Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal de Alagoas (HU/Ufal) conducted the first Mutirão de Saúde Indígena e Quilombola, providing 110 medical services—including 96 consultations and 14 exams—to Indigenous and Quilombola populations across nine municipalities in Alagoas. Among those served was José da Silva, a 62-year-old indigenous farmer from the Jeripankó ethnicity, who received a vital abdominal ultrasound to address longstanding health issues such as prostate enlargement and kidney stones, which he noted he could not have afforded otherwise. This initiative, organized by Ebserh hospitals in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, is part of a nationwide effort that delivered 2,298 total health services, comprising 1,376 exams and procedures, 854 consultations, 23 surgeries, and 45 hospitalizations. The program aims to reduce waiting times and improve specialized care access within Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS).
Supporting these outreach efforts, the Rede Nacional de Dados em Saúde (RNDS) is being implemented in Maranhão to digitally integrate health information across the country. RNDS facilitates secure and rapid access to patient clinical data for healthcare providers, enhancing efficiency and care quality within SUS. Mayra Nina, the RNDS federalization coordinator in Maranhão, emphasized municipalities' key role in updating data, especially in Primary Care, noting that the digitalization of health is an irreversible trend that modernizes public health management.
These initiatives reflect Brazil’s ongoing commitment to improving healthcare equity for Indigenous and Quilombola communities by combining targeted medical campaigns with systemic digital infrastructure advancements. Further mutirões are planned to continue addressing these populations' healthcare needs, contributing to the reduction of service backlogs and strengthening the national health system’s responsiveness and inclusiveness.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.