Lula: We will invest heavily in education, healthcare, and job creation.

247 - During a visit to Belford Roxo, in Rio de Janeiro, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced, this Tuesday (6), significant investments in education and health, including the construction of the permanent headquarters of the Belford Roxo campus of the Federal Institute of Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ) and the implementation of an Oncology Hospital in the city. The federal government will allocate R$ 55 million for these initiatives, aiming to improve the living conditions of residents of Baixada Fluminense.

During the announcement, Lula emphasized the importance of investing in prevention and healthcare before people get sick, highlighting the need for significant investments in education, health, and job creation. "We have to invest in health not after a person is sick, we have to invest in prevention, to avoid people getting sick, because when they get sick it costs more. It's better, then, to invest much earlier. That's why we're going to invest heavily in education, vocational training, health, and job creation," the president declared.

The president shared his personal experience with cancer, reinforcing his commitment to inaugurating the oncology hospital during his term, to guarantee dignified and respectful treatment for citizens. Furthermore, Lula highlighted the expansion of the health budget by R$ 48 billion for the current year and the importance of investments in disease prevention.

“Cancer is a very bad disease. I had throat cancer. I know what it's like to undergo 33 radiotherapy sessions, to have chemotherapy, I know what it's like to have cancer,” Lula stated. “We will inaugurate the hospital while I am still president of this country, so that people are treated with decency and respect, because it is unacceptable that those who have money can get treatment anywhere in the world, while those who are poor die without even getting a consultation in this country,” he added.

In the field of education, the federal funds will be used to expand the availability of places in vocational and technological education and to improve the infrastructure of the Belford Roxo campus. The Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, highlighted that the new permanent headquarters will be able to accommodate up to 1.400 students, significantly expanding access to quality vocational education in the region.

Lula also announced plans to build new federal institutes in the state of Rio de Janeiro, reaffirming his government's commitment to expanding technical education in the country. He compared his government's efforts to those undertaken since the first technical school was created in Brazil in 1909, emphasizing the goal of surpassing the mark of 600 technical schools built during his administration and that of his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff.

The project for the Oncology Hospital, located in the Heliópolis neighborhood, includes a complete infrastructure for high and medium complexity treatments, including surgical centers, wards, and chemotherapy treatment rooms. The mayor of Belford Roxo, Waguinho, highlighted that the unit will benefit not only the city but also the Metropolitan Region, which lacks hospitals specializing in oncology.

The initiative was well received by residents of the region, such as Stefani Conceição da Silva, who saw in the construction of the hospital a hope for those seeking cancer treatment in the Baixada Fluminense.

“When an oncology hospital is established in Belford Roxo, hope is implanted. It's not just a facility where people will come and go, it's a facility where people will have the opportunity to receive treatment in the Baixada Fluminense region and survive,” he said.