Brazil Allocates $12 Billion for Rio Doce Health Recovery

The fourth episode of the "Horizontes do Rio Doce" podcast, released on 22 May, explains how the new Rio Doce Agreement channels health funding to the disaster‑affected region. The agreement creates the Rio Doce Fund, managed by BNDES, requiring Samarco to contribute R$ 49.1 billion over 20 years. Of that, R$ 12 billion is earmarked for health actions, with R$ 11.32 billion administered through the Special Health Program of Rio Doce (PES Rio Doce) under the Ministry of Health and R$ 684 million funded by the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. The podcast outlines plans to strengthen the public health system, expand primary care, build new facilities such as the University Hospital of Mariana in partnership with UFOP, and fund research on the disaster’s long‑term impacts. Officials highlighted the program’s role in rebuilding health infrastructure and improving community resilience in the river basin.