Pictured: A traditional Indigenous house with delegates and an Indigenous elder
Brazil VERDE, 29 July – 1 August 2024
Dr Roger Nascimento, Postdoctoral Researcher and IHTM Teaching Associate, travelled to Manaus, Brazil for the Brazil VERDE: Vitalizing Efforts to Resist Diseases Effectively in Traditional Amazonian Communities. The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness, stimulate discussions, and propose solutions to the main health challenges affecting traditional communities in the Brazilian Amazon, with a special focus on neglected diseases and the need for health strategies adapted to their realities. The workshop was a joint initiative between the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) and Imperial College London, under the auspices of the Amazon 10 program, and with the support of the British Council.
The 4-day event featured lectures and roundtables with national and international researchers taking part alongside indigenous leaders and representatives. The event emphasised the importance of respecting and valuing traditional indigenous knowledge, especially in relation to the health of communities.
Professor Sue Ann Costa Clemens, CBE, Professor of Global Health at the University of Oxford, gave a lecture on how science and innovation can be used as tools to facilitate access to health in traditional communities. The Early Career Development Programme was a key focus of the workshop bringing together 32 colleagues from Brazil and the UK with a shared goal of collaboration and support. Several early-career researchers from both countries presented their research highlighting diseases including tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, arboviruses, emerging viral infections and malaria.
Dr Nascimento took part in the mentoring program and presented to colleagues on the Indigenous Health Sub-System 25th Anniversary: Education, Research and Diplomacy. Speaking about the event he said:
We finished the workshop inspired and encouraged to recommit further international joint research efforts in partnership with experts and scientists from traditional Amazonian communities. Lessons learned from ongoing collaborations challenged us to cultivate scientific curiosity and intellectual humility toward becoming more open and responsive to deeper cultural exchanges.
Brazil VERDE successfully explored effective approaches to health promotion in traditional Amazonian communities, focusing on the determinants of infectious disease transmission in different ecological contexts. The workshop proposed solutions and strategies to improve access to health services, and provided valuable insights that could inform the development of public health policies for traditional populations in the Brazilian Amazon.
Pictured are a representative of the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs of the Brazilian Federal Government speaking at the workshop and delegates and organisers of Brazil VERDE.