Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade , freelance journalist São Paulo rodrigo.oliandrade{at}gmail.comAfter years of devastation wrought by covid-19 and former president Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil is attempting to get its healthcare system back up and running. The Manaus oxygen crisis is perhaps the best example of how Brazil’s former far right president Jair Bolsonaro handled the pandemic. It is also a reflection of the precariousness to which the country’s public healthcare system—also known as Unified Health System, or SUS—has descended after years of regulatory and institutional setbacks promoted by former administrations. Between 2019 and 2021 maternal mortality increased from 55 deaths per 100 000 live births to 110. The restriction of patient access to the healthcare network during the pandemic also resulted in a sharp …

Source: The Guardian April 24, 2023 09:42 UTC