This brief aims to provide an analysis of the Brazilian response to the COVID-19 pandemic regarding transnational migrants and to look forward on how to build epi/pandemic preparedness in a way that is considerate of migrants’ rights, cultures and political demands.
Building on Leach et al., the objective of this brief is ‘to rethink preparedness more fundamentally as a dynamic social, cultural and political process’ and to shed light on how the country’s response to the pandemic failed to be inclusive.
This brief details key policy and operational considerations for the Brazilian Unified Healthcare System (Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS) policymakers, health managers and public health authorities. It draws on ethnographic research from the main author’s doctoral research on the impact of the COVID-19 on racialised migrant and refugee communities in Brazil, on other academic and grey literature on the topic, and on guidelines and proposals for SUS produced in consultation processes organised by civil society.
