Social and environmental determination of health in sugarcane producing territories in Pernambuco.

Abstract

The study analyzed the socio-environmental determination of health in five sugarcane-producing municipalities in Pernambuco. This participatory, qualitative research was conducted from January to August 2022. Workshops were held in the participating communities to build the Participatory Rural Diagnosis of protective and destructive processes of global, community, and individual socio-environmental health dimensions. The communities pointed to social inequalities, productive deregulation, environmental degradation, labor exploitation, violence, and illness as the main processes affecting the territories. Despite this, protective processes were related to the social function of land and the right to agrarian reform, family farming, solidarity and community organization ties, and individual and family self-care practices. The diagnosis points to the need to build public policies for equity, protection, and reparation of the eco-social health of territories affected by sugarcane cultivation, burdened with intense use of pesticides and burning and over-exploited labor, among other socio-environmental problems.