1E9Ct5D

Finally, it is important to mention that Brazil has adhered to other important International Conventionson the subject, including: the Agreement on International Trade Arbitration of Mercosur (Buenos Aires,1998) and the Interamerican Convention on International Trade Arbitration (Panama, 1975).22. HEALTH UNDER BRAZILIAN LAWS22.1. Basic Principle – Health as a Right of All and a Duty of the GovernmentThe first law we need to mention when talking about this topic is without a doubt the BrazilianConstitution. Enacted in 1988, the Constitution guarantees the right to universal, equal access toactions for the promotion, protection and recovery of health (article 196) and states that this is a rightof all Brazilian citizens that must be guaranteed by the Government.Still based on the Constitution, health actions and public health services integrate a regionalized andhierarchical network and constitute a single system (SUS) financed by the Federal, State andMunicipal Governments and the Federal District, among other sources.In 1990, Law 8,080 was enacted to regulate article 196 of the Constitution. Law 8,080 determined theconditions under which health is to be promoted, protected and recovered and how related servicesare to be organized and run. Article 2 of this Law states that "health is a fundamental right of humanbeings, and the Government must provide the basic conditions for it to be fully enjoyed”.It is Law 8,080 that regulates the health actions and services throughout the country, whether suchactions and services are conducted individually or collectively, on a permanent or provisional basis, byindividuals or legal entities governed by public or private law, giving life to what we know today as theUnified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS). The SUS comprises a set of health actionsand services conducted or provided by federal, state and local public institutions and entities in anyway belonging or related to the government.Although public health actions and services are to be conducted within the scope of the SUS, Law8,080/90 authorizes participation of the private sector on a complementary basis.The direction of the SUS is unified and must be conducted at each level by the following entities: (i) atthe federal level: Ministry of Health; (ii) at the state level and for the Federal District and (iii) at the locallevel: the relevant Department of Health (Secretaria de Saúde) or similar entity.The list of duties and purposes of the SUS is a very long one. Among the SUS’s duties is the duty tocarry out sanitary surveillance actions and to assist people by carrying out actions to promote, protectand recover health, both through assistance and preventive care. Another duty is the creation of110