The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) launches, this Thursday 12th, the Alyne Networka program aimed at comprehensive care for pregnant women. The event takes place in Belford Roxo, in Baixada Fluminense (RJ).
According to the government, 4.85 billion reais will be invested in the construction of 36 maternity hospitals and 30 new Normal Birth Centers. The resources must come from the new Growth Acceleration Program (New PAC) and will be allocated, as a priority, to the construction of structures in places with the worst maternal mortality rates.
The objective of public policy is to reduce maternal mortality by 25% by 2027. According to a survey by the Umane Health Observatory, based on data from DataSUS, Brazil recorded 1,397 maternal deaths in 2022. Although still high, the number is the lowest since the beginning of the millennium.
One of the main problems in the area, however, is the fact that the mortality rate reflects social inequalities. According to search Born in Brazilwhich is used by the Ministry of Health, the maternal mortality rate for white women in 2023 was 46.5 per 100,000 live births. In the case of black women, the recorded rate was almost double: 100.3 deaths for every 100,000 live births.
When launching the network, the government informed that the goal is to try to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which aims to reduce the maternal mortality rate to 30 deaths for every 100,000 live births, by 2030.
The Alyne Network must demand an investment of 400 million reais from Health this year alone. For next year, according to the ministry, the contribution should reach 1 billion reais.
One of the main points of the program involves increasing funding so that states and municipalities can carry out prenatal exams. Currently, the transfer is 55 reais per pregnant woman. The government intends to almost triple this amount, rising to 144 reais per pregnant woman.
The program, previously known as Rede Cegonha, was renamed in honor of Alyne da Silva Pimentel Teixeira, a young resident of Baixada Fluminense. She died in 2002 at six months pregnant, as a result of negligent medical care.
