To have more resources, Aracaju's Health Department needs to increase its services.

247 - From what has been disclosed so far, the meeting between Mayor João Alves Filho (DEM) and the Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha (PT), which took place this Tuesday (10) in Brasília, was not very productive. Accompanied by a caravan of parliamentarians – Senators Eduardo Amorim, Maria do Carmo and Valadares and federal deputies André Moura, Laércio Oliveira and Fábio Reis –, the mayor heard from the minister that it is necessary to increase the number of services in order to receive more federal resources.

André Moura said that Padilha listened to the report from the municipal health secretary, Goretti Reis (DEM), about the department's financial situation, but did not respond with anything positive for Aracaju. "There was nothing concrete from the Ministry," he stressed. According to Senator Amorim, "the minister made some suggestions and after taking some measures will try to resolve the outstanding issues."

The mayor requested more resources, arguing that he serves a large number of patients who come from all over the state. It was then that the minister asked for a doubling of the number of patients served in order to reconsider the increase in federal funding.

Through Twitter, the former municipal health secretary, Antônio Samarone, stated that "the resources from the Ministry of Health for Aracaju have been reduced in the last six years, under the influence of local politicians." Even without mentioning names, it is not difficult to know that Samarone is referring to federal deputy Rogério Carvalho (PT), who also previously managed the department, and with whom he has a feud.

In response to the former secretary's comment, the current head of the department, Goretti Reis, said that there was indeed a reduction in the federal government's funding for healthcare in the capital, "going from 49% in 2006 to only 26% of the state's overall budget." "Aracaju has been underfunded," she stated.