Access to healthcare in the remote and resource-poor region of the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Access to healthcare is a particular challenge in extreme, remote contexts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In Brazil, the primary care and social care policies of the early 1990s have led to remarkable improvements in healthcare access in urban, peri-urban, and rural contexts. This chapter examines the strategies that the Brazilian government has developed to address access in its most extreme context—the Amazon region. The chapter explores how these policies have had to be adapted to account for the extreme environments of the vast, impenetrable rainforest region of the Amazon and the particular needs of indigenous populations and fluvial communities.