Popular health surveillance in the face of climate emergencies
5 affiliations
- 1Fiocruz Ceará, Eusébio, Ceará, Brazil
- 2Landless rural workers' movement - MST - Settlement Santa Rita de Cássia II, Nova Santa Rita, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- 3Indigenous Leadership Movimento Potigatapuia - Aldeia Mundo Novo, Monsenhor Tabosa, Ceará, Brazil
- 4Health Minister and Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
- 5General Coordination of Health Surveillance and Reference Laboratories, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Abstract
Public health emergencies associated with extreme weather events - such as floods and droughts - have intensified, revealing the complex relationship between climate emergencies and structural inequalities. In Brazil, rural populations, riverine and forest communities, Indigenous peoples and those living in urban peripheries are disproportionately exposed to the impacts of climate emergencies, which exacerbate socio-environmental vulnerabilities. To protect populations, community-driven initiatives known as "Popular Health Surveillance" (PHS) have emerged and gained political relevance. PHS integrates popular knowledge, scientific understanding, and perspectives from health systems. Anchored in the principles of Popular Education in Health, the ecology of knowledge, and the Social Determination of Health and Good Living (Bien Vivir), PHS recognizes, values, and combines scientific knowledge, popular knowledge, and territorial experiences, promoting intercultural dialogue as a core methodological approach. In the context of climate emergencies, a major challenge for health systems is the implementation of effective mitigation, prevention, and resilience strategies - efforts that require coordination and collaboration among multiple actors and meaningful participation of populations in higher-risk areas. This article presents a conceptual framework and approaches for implementing Popular Health Surveillance in the context of climate emergencies. A documentary study identified national and international experiences of participatory health surveillance and examined them in dialogue with the PHS proposal. These experiences were analyzed based on their definitions and main operational strategies. PHS was further examined through its theoretical principles, strategies, attributes, and application in the face of climate emergencies. PHS is not only a participatory monitoring tool, but a strategy for promoting socio-environmental, cognitive, and health justice. In the context of intensifying climate crises, this approach is essential strengthening community adaptive capacity, integrating diverse knowledge systems, and demanding more inclusive and democratic public policies from an emancipatory perspective.
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BibTeX
@article{carneiro2026popular,
title = {{Popular health surveillance in the face of climate emergencies}},
author = {Fernando Ferreira Carneiro and Graciela Stornini de Almeida and Teresinha Pereira da Silva and Soraya Vanini Tupinambá and Vera Lúcia de Azevedo Dantas and Vanira Matos Pessoa and Maria Rocineide Ferreira da Silva and Tania Maria Peixoto Fonseca},
journal = {PLOS Global Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pgph.0006978},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0006978},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Popular health surveillance in the face of climate emergencies
AU - Fernando Ferreira Carneiro
AU - Graciela Stornini de Almeida
AU - Teresinha Pereira da Silva
AU - Soraya Vanini Tupinambá
AU - Vera Lúcia de Azevedo Dantas
AU - Vanira Matos Pessoa
AU - Maria Rocineide Ferreira da Silva
AU - Tania Maria Peixoto Fonseca
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/05
JO - PLOS Global Public Health
DO - 10.1371/journal.pgph.0006978
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0006978
AB - Public health emergencies associated with extreme weather events - such as floods and droughts - have intensified, revealing the complex relationship between climate emergencies and structural inequalities. In Brazil, rural populations, riverine and forest communities, Indigenous peoples and those living in urban peripheries are disproportionately exposed to the impacts of climate emergencies, which exacerbate socio-environmental vulnerabilities. To protect populations, community-driven initiatives known as "Popular Health Surveillance" (PHS) have emerged and gained political relevance. PHS integrates popular knowledge, scientific understanding, and perspectives from health systems. Anchored in the principles of Popular Education in Health, the ecology of knowledge, and the Social Determination of Health and Good Living (Bien Vivir), PHS recognizes, values, and combines scientific knowledge, popular knowledge, and territorial experiences, promoting intercultural dialogue as a core methodological approach. In the context of climate emergencies, a major challenge for health systems is the implementation of effective mitigation, prevention, and resilience strategies - efforts that require coordination and collaboration among multiple actors and meaningful participation of populations in higher-risk areas. This article presents a conceptual framework and approaches for implementing Popular Health Surveillance in the context of climate emergencies. A documentary study identified national and international experiences of participatory health surveillance and examined them in dialogue with the PHS proposal. These experiences were analyzed based on their definitions and main operational strategies. PHS was further examined through its theoretical principles, strategies, attributes, and application in the face of climate emergencies. PHS is not only a participatory monitoring tool, but a strategy for promoting socio-environmental, cognitive, and health justice. In the context of intensifying climate crises, this approach is essential strengthening community adaptive capacity, integrating diverse knowledge systems, and demanding more inclusive and democratic public policies from an emancipatory perspective.
SN - 2767-3375
ER -