UN Awards Brazil for Large Reductions in Tobacco Use and Traffic Deaths

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On September 23rd in New York, Brazil’s Minister of Health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, received the Interagency Task Force Award of the United Nations (UN). The recognition was for the actions of the Brazilian government in the fight against tobacco and for the reduction of deaths due to traffic accidents.

In the last 12 years, the number of smokers in Brazil fell from 15.6 percent in 2006 to nine percent in 2018.  Between 2010 and 2017, the country reduced the number of deaths from traffic accidents by 17.4 percent, from 42,844 to 35,374 deaths.

According to the Brazilian government, the UN award is in recognition of Brazil’s contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set in 2015, as an action plan in different areas, including health.

In relation to tobacco, the award was given to the National Commission for the Implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and its Brazilian Protocols (CONICQ) chaired by the Ministry of Health.

The commission aims to promote the development, implementation, and evaluation of strategies, plans, and programs for the fulfillment of the obligations set forth in the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Brazil was also awarded under the Life in Traffic program. Created in 2010, the initiative’s main goal is a 50 percent reduction in the number of deaths from traffic accidents by 2020.

To this end, the Ministry of Health, in partnership with states and municipalities, develops actions ranging from interventions in traffic engineering, inspections, educational campaigns, and actions to assist victims.

Life in Traffic is implemented in 26 capitals and 26 other municipalities reaching a population of approximately 50.6 million inhabitants. In the capitals that engaged in the program, there was a reduction greater than the 40 percent threshold, especially Aracaju with a reduction of 55.8 percent; Porto Velho (52 percent); São Paulo (46.7 percent); Belo Horizonte (44.7 percent); Salvador (42.7 percent); and Maceió (41.9 percent).

Source: Agência Brasil