Health Promotion in the National Health Plan in Brazil and the incompatibility with global objectives

Abstract

Abstract The First International Conference on Health Promotion held in Canada in 1986 resulted in the Ottawa Charter, which objectively presents the goals to be achieved by the year 2000, which would contribute to the progress achieved since the Declaration of Alma-Ata and with the debate that took place at the World Health Assembly, in order to contemplate the goal of “health for all in the year 2000”. Obviously, even with all the advances, the goal expected for the year 2000 is far from being reached, which requires a continuous effort by the government and an engagement of the global population for the changes to occur in a sensitive and effective way. Thus, it is necessary to monitor the actions that should be developed so that health promotion is an issue that is increasingly present in health services. This work aimed to analyze the current Brazilian National Health Plan to verify if the proposed actions are in line with what has been recommended in the official international documents for the development of health promotion. The results demonstrate that the Plan is composed of epidemiological data, incidence rates about the monitoring of mortality and comorbidities, demographic indicators and issues based in the surveillance of endemic diseases, in addition to thirteen objectives and seven thematic axes that guide disease control and issues related to the structure of the Health System and its organization. In its entire content, there is no mention of the goals defined in the report of the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion or even the Ottawa Charter, and the expression 'health promotion' appears only once, in a context of mentioning the surveillance and violence prevention actions. It is concluded that the Plan is a mere formal instrument that does not include actions for the development of health promotion, prepared according to the braszillians protocol and bureaucratic requirements, following the procedures to be approved by the National Congress. Key messages The National Health Plan presents a global overview about brazillians health situation, but doesn’t bring factive solutions and do not support the engagement to health promotion. The National Health Plan is not in line with the Global engagement for enhancing Health Promotion and the Sustainable Development Goals.