National Network of Afro-Brazilian Religions and Health

To enable the “povo de terreiro” (Afro-Brazilian religions people) to use accessible and easy-to-use technologies and to produce human rights content, mainly aiming at fighting racism and religious intolerance, and also promoting the health of the Black population.

Communication workshop in Manaus, Fortaleza, and Recife.

Historically, these communities have faced racist and prejudiced attacks by the hegemonic cultures in Brazil. However, over time the situation has gotten worse, and their rights have been ignored, disrespected or violated in the last decades. In recent years, it has been common for these religions’ communities to be physically and verbally assaulted, to be stopped from wearing their robes and props, and to have their places of worship destroyed, without any response or protection from the public power. The consequences of these acts of discrimination, racism, and prejudice on the mental and physical health of this population are immeasurable. Building mechanisms that corroborate a network of protection and care are of paramount importance. The role of communication in this scenario is strategic for disseminating and securing rights, as well as sharing forms of care and coping. Having a tradition of oral culture and little access to the spaces and formal means of producing information and communication, terreiro communities find it difficult to create and share information of collective interest beyond their areas of worship. It is necessary to instrumentalize and build alternatives that expand their knowledge, speeches, and rights. Moreover, also, qualify and create spaces of dialogue between the terreiro communities.

The National Network of Afro-Brazilian Religions and Health is an articulation of civil society that involves Afro-Brazilian people of religious tradition, health professionals, and members of non-governmental organizations, researchers and leaders of the Black movement, aiming at promoting the health of terreiros communities and their surroundings. Created in São Luís do Maranhão, during the II National Seminar on Afro-Brazilian Religions and Health (2003), the Network aims at: fighting for the human right to health; valuing the knowledge of terreiros and their recognition as health promoters; combating racism, sexism, homophobia, lesbophobia and all forms of intolerance; to legitimize the leadership of terreiros as holders of knowledge and powers to demand from the local authorities an excellent quality service performed with respect, establishing a communication channel between the Afro-Brazilian religious tradition and society.

Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar (National Council for Food Security)
Inter-sectoral Committee on the Health of the Black Population of the National Health Council
National Committee of Popular Education and Health of the Ministry of Health
SEPPIR Working Group on Health of the Black Population
Lai Lai Apejo Network: Black population and AIDS
National Network of Social Control and Health of the Black Population
Inter-religious Latino-American and Caribbean Network for the Fight against AIDS
Black Women's Network of Pernambuco