Marinha do Brasil na Amazônia Legal: serviços prestados de assistência hospitalar às populações ribeirinhas pelos navios da esperança

Abstract

The Legal Amazon is a region of superlatives: five million km², the largest biome in Brazil, the largest hydrographic basin in the world, has 22,000 km of waterways and the largest demographic void in the country, where access to the constitutional right to health is hampered by great distances and dense forest. Thus, little is known about the health of the population in this region. With more than 150 years of experience in the Amazon, with an undeniable fluvial vocation, the Navy lacks this inalienable right and performs, through the Hospital Assistance Ships (NAsH), health care to the riverside population throughout the year. This study aims to analyze the health care provided by the Hospital Assistance Ships of the Brazilian Navy in the Amazon and its contribution to national development. The work used the inductive method, based on bibliographic and documentary research, restricting itself to data collected by ships from 2017 to 2019. The principles of the Unified Health System (SUS) are counted, the obstacles to accessing the System, the role of health and its clear relationship with the improvement of living conditions and development capacity in the country. The scope of the work of the NASH is presented - affectionately known as “Navios da Esperança”, and its connection with SUS, converging to develop objectives for improve the quality of life of this population, disseminate the work and the wealth of knowledge acquired over the years, tracing a promising path for future public policies for the sector, generating National Development.