GOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

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Pounce’s first soccer game!

No trip to Brazil would be complete without going to a soccer game. Today we had the chance to experience the madness that is Brazil futebol when we went to a game at Salvador’s stadium, Itaipaiva Arena Fonte Nova. On our cab ride to the stadium the driver joked with the girls that we would love the game because of all the men but also warned us to guard our belonging and stay aware of our surroundings. This is just one example of the many warnings we’ve gotten in Brazil to enjoy ourselves but also to be careful and remember to stay safe. Once we arrived at the stadium, a few of us had difficulty actually getting inside. We went through security 4 separate times and tried to go in many gates only to be turned around, but finally we found the correct entrance and our enthusiasm was reignited once we heard the cheers coming from inside. The game today was between Bahia, which I’m assuming is the team for the entire state, and Joinville which is a team from the state of Santa Catarina. I was extremely excited because my host mom even let me wear one of her son’s Bahia jerseys so I could fully take advantage of this experience.  Although the crowd was not that big, the excitement for the game was contagious. Everyone was cheering, they were dressed in their team’s colors, and there was even a group of drummers in the stands. When Bahia scored a goal in the second half, the crowd went wild. This was definitely my favorite part of the whole night. To me, going to this soccer game was another opportunity to be fully immersed in Brazilian culture. In the United States we always see how important soccer is to Brazilians but there’s nothing like actually experiencing it. The Bahia vs. Joinville game was one of the highlights of the trip and I think that as a group we thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Some of the group enjoying the game!

What is Collective Health?

Today at UFBA Dr. Eduardo Mota began to teach us the basics of “collective health”. He described the concept of collective health as one that is both difficult to explain and difficult to understand, especially for those who don’t live under the system. Collective health is an idea that developed in the 1980s from the criticisms of the Brazilian health system while the country was under a dictatorship; there were people who criticized the preventive health in the country and also those who were not entirely comfortable with the status of public health.  Collective health came from a need to take care of the health of the country as a whole, to focus on preventive medicine, to change clinical practices, and to also reform the entire health system because prevention and public health alone were not enough to address the Brazilians’ needs.

Along with this concept of collective health, the country of Brazil also saw a change in its healthcare system. Previously there were two healthcare systems, one for those with formal employment and one for those without. Now Brazil has SUS, Sistema Único de Saúde, a unified health system for the whole country. This is a public system which is required by the constitution of 1988 to provide healthcare to everyone. Brazilians also have the choice to buy private insurance, which comes with advantages like private clinics and hospitals, shorter wait times, and the ability to deduct this payment from taxes.

The concept of collective health and the status of Brazil’s healthcare system are topics that I am looking forward to learning more about over the next three weeks!

-Alexandria Blake

The Institute of Collective Health at UFBA
The Institute of Collective Health at UFBA