Vessels Expand Health Care for the Population in Belém During COP 30
Hospital boats provide itinerant medical and surgical assistance to riverside communities near the Icoaraci district
From November 7 to 12, the vessels Papa Francisco and São João XXIII, hospital boats with recognized social and health impact, will be docked at the Hydroviary Terminal of the Icoaraci district in Belém, offering specialized medical care to the local population and nearby islands.
This initiative is from the Secretariat of Specialized Health Care (Saes) of the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the State Secretariat of Public Health (Sespa) and the Municipal Health Secretariat (Sesma), expanding health service coverage during the 30th Conference of the Parties of the UN on Climate Change (COP 30).
The two vessels are references in itinerant medical assistance in the Amazon region, providing medical, dental, surgical, and diagnostic services in hard-to-reach areas, especially in the Lower Amazon.
Among the available specialties are general practice, gynecology, radiology, general surgery, anesthesiology, dentistry, pediatrics, and ophthalmology. Surgical procedures of medium complexity, such as hernias, postectomies, and cholecystectomies, as well as laboratory and imaging tests, will also be performed.
The Deputy Secretary of Health of the State, Heloísa Guimarães, explains that the vessels will act as medical support during COP 30, serving both the local population and patients previously selected for surgeries.
“The boats will operate serving the population and also patients from the nearby islands of the Icoaraci district, providing support for surgeries and specialized care,” she emphasized.
She also highlights the capacity of the floating units: “About 14 surgeries will be performed daily, in three surgical rooms and one ophthalmology room. In the outpatient clinic, 30 daily consultations are planned, in addition to services in five dental offices,” the manager informed.
The hospital boats were born from a request by Pope Francis in 2013, as a way to expand access to health in riverside and indigenous communities in the Amazon. The Papa Francisco boat, in operation since 2019, has already traveled to 17 municipalities in the Northern Pará region, benefiting over 1 million people and nearly 600,000 services. The São João XXIII, inaugurated in 2024, operates in 19 municipalities in Amazonas, with over 127,000 services performed.
Text: Suellen Santos - Ascom Sespa
