Infant mortality reporting inspires maternal health bill

Amazônia Vox’s award-winning solutions series on infant mortality led to public action in Brazil. A member of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Pará (Alepa), Carlos Bordalo (Workers’ Party), introduced a bill to prioritize pregnant women from riverside communities in the state’s public health system. Bordalo also delivered a Vote of Applause for the series’ reporting. Alepa’s official website mentions the Amazônia Vox report, and Bordalo posted on social media that the report inspired the proposed legislation. The bill is awaiting a vote by Assembly members, and if approved, will proceed to the state government for sanctioning. At the federal level, an advisor for Alessandra Haber, a national legislator from Pará, contacted Amazônia Vox, as Haber plans a public legislative hearing in Brasília, in early 2025, to discuss solutions for improving health care for pregnant women in riverside communities. The report is also mentioned in Haber's proposal. In the Federal Senate, Senator Zequinha Marinho (Podemos) issued a motion of commendation from the legislative house for the report and its Roche Health Journalism Award from the Gabo Foundation.