[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none” style=”font-size: 1.2em;”][vc_column width=”1/2″][text_output]The 2014 FIFA World Cup has officially started in Brazil, and for the next month frenzied fans across the globe will be stationed in front of TV screens, rooting for their favorite teams. An estimated 3.7 million tourists will descend upon Brazil for World Cup games and other World Cup related activities. Occurring once every four years, the World Cup is taking place in-arguably-the soccer capital of the world (also recognizing that the rest of the world refers to soccer as football). A lot of things come to mind when we think about Brazil. Maybe it’s the religious-like reverence for soccer, the world class beaches, or the Girl From Ipanema. At ARCHIVE, we are always thinking about the world around us in context with health, and the built environment. One thing is for sure, the world’s eyes are locked on Brazil for the next month, and have been for the past year leading up to the games.[/text_output][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” style=”border: 1px solid #eeeeee; padding: 10px; font-size: .7em;”][image type=”none” float=”none” link=”true” target=”blank” info=”tooltip” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” src=”5847″ href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/40969298@N05/14262330337/in/photolist-8jtUqc-nS1dkA-ntBYA4-nui5G2-nHZFqF-nvA252-nMoT1j-nRPvDM-nsjjC9-nSw4Bx-nVncj9-nMdbka-nJjaVc-nYNpAs-nJufKK-nJmxUb-nJmzo2-nJmhxP-nJmGWu-nJmz9y-nJmdMc-o1xRD2-o1KfVy-nYNySU”][text_output]Image Courtesy: Clement Jacquard; A house is being built next to the road close to the Itararé cable car station. The cable car gondolas just passe above and the empty space aside is used as a trash collector. In favelas, houses are generally built slowly, as fast as the savings and the wages of the builder allow it.[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none” style=”font-size: 1.2em;”][vc_column width=”1/1″][text_output]In the past year country-wide protests hit Brazil like a sledgehammer, worrying many that these protests would delay the development of World Cup infrastructure. The protesters demanded improvements to inadequate public housing, transportation, access to health services, as well as the reduction of government corruption and police brutality. While this public infrastructure crumbled, the government spent a reported $11.3 billion on the games. This heavy financial undertaking of the World Cup undercuts the absolutely critical improvements needed by the people of Brazil.
Let’s look at some fun facts about Brazil, and why the situation here has inspired these protests. Brazil’s economy has had remarkable growth in the past decade. In 2010 alone, Brazil’s GDP growth reached 7.5% according to World Bank data. But since its peak in 2010, overall growth has stagnated, frustrating Brazilians particularly in the face of a major investment like the World Cup. Additionally, government spending is not addressing the many needs of a diverse and highly urban population. This is dangerous. With a population of approximately 200 million people, 85% are living in urban areas. Furthermore, despite the former levels of economic growth, Brazil is one of the most economically unequal countries in the world. This high inequality divides the nation.
This means that there is a massive urban population where the rich are very, very rich and the poor are very, very poor. Economic resources are not being used to build badly needed infrastructure. And then there are the favelas. Favelas aren’t fictionalized housing from the movie City of God. In Brazil, 11.4 million people live in these informal, urban settlements which frequently lack very basic public services. In Rio de Janeiro alone, 1.4 million people live in favelas. Slum dwellings foster a range of health related issues because so many people are squeezed into small living spaces with poor or no sanitation and water management. Tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, and vector borne diseases can spread rampantly in these conditions. In Rio, improved water and sanitation services are unavailable for 30% of the city’s population. In a city of approximately 6.3 million, this means that over a million people currently lack access to water and or toilets that are hooked up to the city sanitation system.[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none” style=”font-size: 1.2em;”][vc_column width=”1/2″ fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” style=”border: 1px solid #eeeeee; padding: 10px; font-size: .7em;”][image type=”none” float=”none” link=”true” target=”blank” info=”tooltip” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” src=”5857″ href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/chinaglia/14008759349/in/photolist-nXLZpZ-nFhoRB-nkUy6B-jd5uah”][text_output]Image Courtesy: Hugo Chinaglia; “It is going to be a beautiful World Cup, but it won’t be the World cup of the Brazilian people, because they won’t be able to afford tickets. The richer will attend the games, will see nice modern stadiums … but the whole people will pay the bill.”
-Romario[/text_output][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px”][text_output]Another scourge shrouding the World Cup is the threat of a potentially deadly tropical disease that currently threatens 40% of the world’s population—dengue fever. This neglected tropical disease is mosquito-borne and has no cure. Travelers who are infected with Dengue in Brazil risk transmitting the disease to mosquitos in their home countries. Though rare, the public health implications are serious if a dengue fever outbreak occurs at the games. Luckily, most travelers will be safe in their air-conditioned hotel rooms. The real risk lies in the perpetuation of preferred breeding grounds for dengue carrying mosquitoes like open containers of water and areas with poor sanitation. These conditions, commonly found in favelas, are the mosquito equivalent of an orgy-themed amusement park. According to the Pan American Health Organization, “The problems of water supply and an inadequate system of sewage disposal, coupled with the lack of environmental management in homes and surroundings, are problems that greatly facilitate the proliferation of mosquito breeding sites of this disease”.
The entire world’s eyes will be focused on Brazil for the next month. If anything, the World Cup games will be a great platform for Brazilians to air out their dirty laundry, with a global audience. These protests shed an international light on the services that Brazil is lacking, but act also as a mirror for our own countries’ health and housing inequities. Brazil is not the only country that lacks these absolutely necessary services. Proper sanitation is essential for health, for the sanctity of human life. The undertaking of the World Cup by the Brazilian government was a metaphorical slap in the face to the millions of people who live their daily lives without access to the same services that were surely included in the planning of the stadiums built for the World Cup.
-Cleo Stern; Communications Officer[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row]