Collaborative laboratory on data ecologies towards environmental health

Brazil

Collaborative laboratory on data ecologies towards environmental health


Main contact points:

Mário Moreira (Vice President), Paulo Gadelha (coordinator, Agenda 2030), Fernando Bozza, Romulo Paes, Valcler Rangel, Manoel Barral (CIDACS- coordinator); and Maurício Lima Barreto (CIDACS): Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Brasil
Eliana Sousa Silva (Diretor) and Luna Arouca: Redes da Maré, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


Slums of Rio de Janeiro

This initiative aims to leverage new types of data and analytical approaches to address challenges related to Brazil´s environmental health conditions. It includes the development and dissemination of novel approaches to deal with inequalities and facilitating the development of “sustainable and healthy territories”, in association with the development of innovative policy frameworks. The ultimate goal is to use advanced data acquisition and processing systems combined with data derived from Earth Observation systems to enable innovative policies and practices driven by new research dealing with environmental health.

It considers innovation in sustainable and healthy territories, integrating the “One Health” concept and the development of innovative systems for the safety of populations, with the involvement of communities and including food security, health security, job security, access to education and culture, together with sustainable development of vulnerable communities and community security policies.

The design of the initiative considers leveraging existing activities of Fiocruz in Brazil with different scopes, length scales and focus (national; metropolitan and regional mixed urban/ rural; urban/local), as follows:

  1. Scope 1 - Data analysis at national level, with comparative regional and international analysis;
  2. Scope 2 - Southeastern Regional level: Bocaina Region (i.e., the Brazilian southeastern region between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo);
  3. Scope 3 - Northeastern Regional level: All Saints Bay, Salvador, Bahia State; and
  4. Scope 4 - Urban/Local level: “Comunidade da Maré”, Rio de Janeiro;

It should be noted that Fiocruz took scientific knowledge to all social sectors during the pandemic, but at the same time strengthened network actions. The initiatives undertaken made it possible to reduce the impact of Covid19 in situation of great social vulnerability. It is clear today that it is not possible to think about inequality without recognizing social diversity and unequal access to basic rights, this an effective committed to defending those in the margins. In societal terms, this means the critical need to effectively empower change. Health and education, with technology and innovation, provide means to change the current situation in slums and outskirts, but need to have societal commitment at large.


Scope 1 - national level: Data analysis at national level, with comparative regional and international analysis

This component considers leveraging the activities at the main Fiocruz´s data Centre, CIDACS, located in Salvador, Bahia), in partnership with actors across Brazil. It includes the identification and processing of “data sets” with the necessary temporal, spatial, social and individual resolutions, together with the development of innovative research, policy and practice, encompassing the following themes:

  • Effects of social policies on health outcomes: making use of Brazilian and other databases to generate scientific knowledge and provide comparative evidence to support: i) public policymaking; and/or ii) individual/collective decision-making;
  • Effect of public security policies and police behaviour on public security in vulnerable urban contexts (i.e., Brazilian Favelas): making use of Brazilian and other databases to generate scientific knowledge and provide comparative evidence to support: i) public policymaking; and/or ii) individual/collective decision-making;
  • Effect of income inequality on health outcomes: looking at specific data sets in vulnerable urban landscapes (e.g., in Southeast Brazilian favelas of Rio de Janeiro / São Paulo favelas) in comparison with average population indicators to support: i) public policymaking; and/or ii) individual/collective decision-making;

The analysis will consider specific data sets in vulnerable urban landscapes (e.g., in Southeast and Northeast Brazilian favelas) in comparison with average population indicators, including:

  1. targeting “ETHNO-RACIAL INEQUALITIES” (e.g., Quilombola Families; Indigenous Families; Gypsy Families), with “environmental health issues“;
  2. targeting “ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUALITIES, including RURAL ENVIRONMENT” (e.g., Family Farmers; Artisanal Fishermen Families; Riverside Families; as well as Extractive Families), including in specific zones affected with forest dismantling (e.g. State of Acre in the border of Amazonia) or in specific wetlands (i.e., “manguezais”);
  3. targeting “WATER QUALITY INEQUALITIES” (e.g., in Southeast Brazilian favelas of Rio de Janeiro) in association with the level of adoption of water management/sanitary policies.

In addition, it will consider interdisciplinary research and analysis on the effects of social, labour and environmental policies on different health and human outcomes (including quality of job creation), making use of integrated Brazilian and/or international databases to generate scientific knowledge and provide evidence to support: i) public policymaking; and/or ii) individual/collective decision-making.

Since its creation in December, 2016, CIDACS has continuously developed robust infrastructure, data governance and sharing frameworks, and operational protocols for the acquisition, management, and linkage of large-scale, nationwide, administratively collected electronic health and social records in Brazil. CIDACS currently houses two core biomedical data resources:

  • The 100 Million Brazilian Cohort (N=131,697,800 low-income individuals, 2001-2018), which was initially developed to investigate the impact of social policies and social determinants on the health of the low-income population of Brazil who apply for social benefits through the Unified Registry of Social Programs (Cadastro Único). The dynamic cohort links (i) geocoded individual-level health records, including information on deaths, births, notifiable infectious diseases and their treatments, hospital admissions, and anthropometrics, (ii) neighbourhood-level, household-level, and individual-level socioeconomic data, and (iii) intervention-related data on social policies, such as the Bolsa Família conditional cash transfer programme, the Cisternas water collection programme, and the Minha Casa Minha Vida affordable housing programme.
  • The CIDACS Birth Cohort (N=28,631,390 liveborn children, 2001-2018), which was initially developed to investigate the impact of prenatal and early life events on health-related outcomes for infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant persons in the context of social inequalities. The dynamic cohort links birth records from the Information System of Live Births (SINASC, Sistema de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos) with socioeconomic data from The 100 Million Brazilian Cohort and health outcome-related data on deaths, notifiable infectious diseases and their treatments, hospital admissions, and anthropometrics.

The resources offer unique advantages for conducting research to improve the health of low-income populations:

  • Size. The CIDACS data resources provide unparalleled power to investigate rare health outcomes (e.g., leprosy), health services and outcomes in disadvantaged groups (e.g., migrants, indigenous communities, persons experiencing homelessness), and interactions between social and climate-mediated exposures on health (e.g., interaction of local deprivation and temperature on burden of arthropod-borne virus infections).
  • Follow-up. The CIDACS data resources include individual-level longitudinal data from as early as 2001. This long-term follow-up facilitates research that uses a life course perspective (e.g., from infancy to adolescence in the CIDACS Birth Cohort), considers changes over time (e.g., rural-to-urban internal migration), and investigates temporal effects (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions to health services and outcomes).
  • Resolution. The CIDACS data resources enable nationwide comparisons of social, environmental, and health inequalities at a local resolution. Individual-level information on socioeconomic and health outcomes has the potential to be linked with neighbourhood-level exposures (e.g., small area deprivation index, primary care quality, weather station data).
  • Setting. Although they share some similarities with available resources in the United Kingdom, Denmark, and other high-income countries, the CIDACS data resources are unparalleled within the Low- and Middle-Income Country (LMIC) context. The setting of Brazil -- a large and socially diverse country with extraordinary diversity in terms of socioeconomic, geographical, climatic, and ecological factors -- enables investigators to test hypotheses that are currently impossible to evaluate or insufficiently tested given the limitations of existing cohorts.

The focus will be on health impact of policies designed to affect socio-economic factors, including labour markets (e.g., quality of job creation), as well as new research with data science and related methods using AI using the CIDACS data set of 100 million Brazilian Cohort. The goal is to particularly address the issues of “unsettled minds” (see, for example, UNDP 2022) and mental health, in association with “quality of jobs” (created and existing), as well as overall socio-environmental conditions. Examples of analysis to be made may include targeting social determinants using cash transfer programs, leveraging the experience of CIDACs over the last few years.


Scope 2 - Southeastern Regional level: Observatory of Sustainable and Healthy Territories of Bocaina (OTSS).

The Observatory of Sustainable and Healthy Territories of Bocaina (OTSS) is located in the largest remnant of preserved Atlantic Forest between the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. This territory is home of more than 100 traditional indigenous and quilombola communities, recognized as the first living mixed World Heritage site in South America. It is also a territory marked by conflicts and impacts from large undertakings in the areas of energy, critical infrastructures and tourism.

Since 2009, Fiocruz and the Fiocruz Traditional Communities Forum (FCT), the most relevant representation of traditional people of Bocaina, joined efforts that led to the creation in of the Observatory of Sustainable and Healthy Territories of Bocaina (OTSS). The initiative has evolved in the last few years as an advanced campus of Fiocruz and FCT to promote the territorialization of the 2030 Agenda and the effective improvement of sustainability and health indicators in the traditional territories of Bocaina.

OTSS works with a methodology for promoting sustainable and healthy territories based in “ecologies of knowledge”, shared governance, networks of solidarity and social cartography, including the following activities: i) strengthening traditional communities forum; ii) promoting agroecology; iii) stimulating health promotion; iv) promoting territory defense’s; v) fostering community-based tourism; vi) promoting ecological sanitation; vii) promoting specialized education; viii) development of a social technologies business incubator and ix) promoting international cooperation.

There is a growing number of projects being developed by OTSS, such as: i) Peoples Project, with the characterization of 64 traditional communities; ii) Environmental Education Project (PEA Costa Verde); iii) Capacity Building for Healthy and Sustainable Territories; iv) Learning Territories Platform, with the goal of creating collaborative labs based on nature based social technologies related to promotion, monitoring and evaluation of 2030 Agenda; and v) International Cooperative University (L’UCI); and vi) Social Technology Incubator Platform.

The ultimate goal is to use advanced data acquisition and processing systems combined with data derived from Earth Observation systems to enable innovative policies and practices driven by new research dealing with the complex landscape of Bocaina territories.


Scope 3 - Northeastern Regional level: All-Saints Bay (BTS - “Baía de Todos os Santos”)

All-Saints Bay (i.e., “Baía de Todos os Santos – BTS”, or “Kirimurê Tupinambá”) is a large bay located on the edges of Salvador, the third largest Brazilian city, capital of the state of Bahia. The region had suffered the impact of human actions for many centuries and fails to receive priority attention from public development policies. It exceeds three million inhabitants, with a large part located in Salvador, and current trends in population growth, together with very high levels of poverty deserve attention at local, regional and international levels.

The All-Saints Bay project (i.e., “BTS Project”) started in November 2008, with an expected completion date of 30 years, although related results are far from being successfully achieved. The goal is to consider the integrated analysis of data towards improving the quality of the environment together with the quality of life of the population.

The project involves: i) risk monitoring, communication and capacity building based on high-resolution satellite-based carbon mapping and observation strategies, integrating advanced data ecologies and modelling; ii) determination of risk areas for human health using primary health care electronic health records (PHC EHR); and iii) modelling with ecological and bioclimatological data in distinct BTS areas.

The ultimate goal is to use advanced data acquisition and processing systems combined with data derived from Earth Observation systems to enable innovative policies and practices driven by new research dealing with the complex landscape of All-Saints Bay.

It considers methods for: i) combining molecular characterization of environmental microorganisms for monitoring both human and animal health and environmental pollution, as well as capacity building on risk management active-learning methodologies; ii) community-based risk identification, damage reduction and approaches for sustainable land management; iii) advanced analysis of urban expansion processes and related capacity-building strategies toward urban densification patterns leading to effective carbon neutral cities in highly diversified contexts.


Scope 4 - Urban/Local level: Maré, Rio de Janeiro.

The territory of Maré, localized in the northern sector of Rio de Janeiro, involves 16 slums and around 140 thousand inhabitants. It considers a relatively high population density, surpassing more than 96% of Brazilian municipalities.

The initiative to be launched under K4P Alliances considers an interinstitutional, transdisciplinary and collaborative laboratory aimed to achieve structural change at medium and long term, especially through social technologies connected to innovations in data and knowledge ecologies. The combination of emerging technologies with decisive participation of local communities will be applied in real living conditions, being monitored, and evaluated with the purpose of generating positive impact on the most vulnerable population and on the design and implementation of public policies.

Emphasis will be given on actions to guarantee the basic right of “access to public security for all”, which includes access to public health, access to sanitation and water quality, access to education and access to quality jobs, beyond access to a secure daily life. It requires two fundamental investments: i) working with the symbolic field, with the population's imagination, and; ii) valuing the police officer[1].

It should be noted that in the territory of Maré there is no participation of the population in local processes of institutional corruption, including those associated with the occupation of the territories by drug dealers and armed groups, as well as their complex relations with local security forces. The process is authoritarian, private and established through military power, just like dictatorships are installed. In view of the absence of the regulatory power of the State in the popular spaces of Maré (as in many other favelas), historically the social relations established there were constituted from the construction of their own regulatory mechanisms.

Consequently, public security cannot be left to the security forces alone and it will not be transformed by local corporations. It is increasingly necessary that locally recognized social actors (NGOs, foundations), especially civil society, universities, the media, co-design and implement alternative security initiatives, based on a strong participatory process and people´s engagement.

The rational for the proposed work relies on the fact that many civil society organizations, for example, continue to adopt a merely demanding and “denunciator” stance in relation to police practices, without seeking to build dialogue channels, methodologies and conceptual propositions that contribute to the effective construction of other paradigms. There is simply the desire to remain in a “comfort zone” and not face the sophisticated set of tensions and challenges posed by the various actors of contemporary social reality.

As a result, it is necessary to overcome the traditional and conservative representations, but also the so-called progressive ones, which rely on a simplifying and deterministic logic of the social reality of the “favela” and of the State itself. Thus, only with creative, integrated proposals that articulate different social actors will it be possible to produce innovative public policies for popular spaces in the field of public security. It is, in fact, a matter of “re-signifying” all the policeman's work and his professional condition.

The work will rely in an innovative organizational arrangement involving citizens, civil society organizations, academia, government agencies and private sector. The ultimate goal is to use advanced data acquisition and processing systems combined with data derived from Earth Observation systems to enable innovative policies and practices driven by new research dealing with the complex social landscape of Maré territories.

The initiative will be based on increasingly relevant collaborative efforts among Fiocruz Foundation and Redes da Maré, a civil society organization (i.e., NGO) created by locals in the 1980s, which was formalized in 2007 with the goal of establishing the necessary networks to enforce population basic rights.




[1] See Eliana S Silva (2019), “Testemunhos da Maré”, Mórula editores, Rio de Janeiro.