Amazonian countries need a SUS, says Dina Boluarte

The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, said this Tuesday (8.Aug.2023) that the Amazonian countries must create a Unified Health System and an integrated social protection system. “The time has come to carry out infrastructure works and sustainable connectivity between our countries”stated Boluarte during the Amazon Summit, held in Belém (PA).

The Peruvian leader also said it was necessary to implement public policies to value the activities carried out by local populations. “For this, it will be necessary, in the first place, to create coordinated networks for research and valorization of ancestral knowledge, initiatives for the study and application of innovative and environmentally sustainable technologies”these.

Boluarte also declared that countries with territory in the Amazon need to “implement schemes to promote contemporary creation and develop joint initiatives for sustainable tourism”.

On Tuesday (Aug 1), the president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) mentioned a similar proposal: the creation of a state-owned TV channel with international coverage to promote tourism in Brazil, including ecological tourism in the Amazon.

The president of Peru also proposed that the countries present at the summit visit other continents to “to show the vitality of the Amazonian culture, its legends and traditions”.

The Peruvian leader declared that her government will allocate resources to advance the conservation and sustainable use of forests in Peru’s territory. She also suggested the creation of a multilateral partnership to curb environmental crimes in the region, such as illegal deforestation and drug trafficking.

At the end of his speech, Boluarte invited Lula to visit Peru, to “further deepen integration” among nations. “I want to invite you to visit my country soon to further deepen Peruvian-Brazilian integration and together transform the governance of the Amazon that we share”he declared.

This is Dina Boluarte’s 1st international trip since assumed the Peruvian presidency in December 2022, when his predecessor, Pedro Castilho, was impeached after trying to dissolve Congress.

AMAZON SUMMIT

The meeting, led by President Lula, is attended by leaders and authorities from countries that have the Amazon as part of their territory. In addition to Brazil, the biome is located in parts of Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Ecuador.

The 8 countries participating in the Summit are part of ACTO (Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization), a body created in 1978 that encourages sustainable development and social inclusion in the region. The 2023 meeting is the 4th between the parties to the treaty and the 1st since 2009.

The event started this Tuesday (Aug 8) and will run until Aug 4 (Aug 9). In a protocol speech, Lula stated that the meeting aims to promote sustainable development in the region, in addition to ensuring the place of the Amazonian countries on the international agenda.

Read more about the Amazon Summit: