Saneamento, dengue e demandas sociais na maior favela do Estado do Rio de Janeiro: a Rocinha

Abstract

Four decades ago, the occupation of the peripheral urban space in Brazil has been studied intensively, especially in large cities. In the occupied areas by low-income population, the lack of basic infrastructure contributes to poor health quality, reflecting the proliferation of those unwanted animals that have adapted to living with the man like the mosquito that transmits dengue. The city of Rio de Janeiro has had yearly epidemic cycles since 1987, being the fifth of them in 2012, with more than 184, 000 cases of illness and 42 deaths. The aim of this paper is to discuss the contradictions in the definition of public policies and their distance from the health situation of the largest slum in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Rocinha. From documental research and data analysis, it was adopted an approach based on the proposal to build a sustainable city, according to the Law 10,257/2001 – the City Statute. We conclude by stating that the health and environmental risks, to which the population remains exposed, should be treated in a priority way, enabling health surveillance efforts, sewage and awareness. It is therefore not just a request for groups of residents, but a right, the right to the sustainable city, official, inclusive, egalitarian and participatory.