MG Vice Bill proposes to establish SUS Animal across the country

Federal Representative Reginaldo Lopez (PT-MG) introduced a bill in the chamber proposing the creation of a Uniform System for Animal Health (Susa). The proposal provides for tripartite funding (federation, states and municipalities) to enable public veterinary care across the country based on SUS standards.

“I propose the same model as SUS – complementary health, complementary health, service network, charitable entities that will be able to join and provide services, primary, medium and high complexity care. Therefore, SUS has been expanded to include Animal SUS, seeking to incorporate this unique health concept: the environment, And the human animal and the non-human animal, the deputy explained.

The initial expectation would be to allocate 0.3% of the federal, state and municipal budget to fund Susa. “I have a projected budget of 0.3% of the federal, state and municipal budget. This can be changed according to municipal, state and national laws,” he explained.

According to the congressman, the initiative aims to overcome the difficulty that many Brazilian municipalities have already faced with regard to the provision of public veterinary care. He mentioned cities in Minas Gerais having difficulty maintaining equal castration services due to a lack of resources or professionals. He also said that there are municipalities seeking partnerships with other cities to make this type of service possible.

Also according to the deputy, the proposal takes into account the benefits to human health, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. He believes that greeting people is related to the environment and the ecosystem and believes that investing in Susa can prevent new diseases.

According to the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health), about 60% of human diseases involve animals in their cycle. Proof of this is the horror we have been living in all over the world for two years, and although we have spent more than trillions of reals in Brazil fighting the pandemic, we are still losing more than 600,000 people, despite all the impact on the economy and civic life. He said the pandemic proves that without integrated health care and the neglect we allow to happen, people will suffer severe and painful consequences.

The bill states that it has the right to serve public health “wild, domestic, exotic, domesticated or domesticated animals that are considered companions”. This, according to the deputy, is to prevent farmers from taking over the structure to process entire herds.

In addition to veterinary assistance to pets, Susa will also work in the areas of sanitary and epidemiological surveillance, nutrition surveillance, and inspection and inspection of food for animal consumption, among others.