Epidemiologist Cesar Victora, 71, will receive the highest award in Brazilian science this Wednesday (5/10). He will be awarded the Almirante Álvaro Alberto Award in a ceremony at the Naval School of the Navy, in Rio de Janeiro. The medal is awarded in a three-year rotation, with a prize awarded to a representative of the human sciences, one of the exact sciences and, as will happen now, one of the life sciences.
More on the subject
-
Brazil
Find out who is the doctor who refused Bolsonaro’s title and will receive a prize from scientists
-
Brazil
Doctor who refused Bolsonaro’s title receives science award
-
Federal District
UnB professor wins international award for women in science
-
Brazil
UFRJ professor wins international award for geology work
“For me it is an honor to be chosen, especially considering that it is the first time that a collective health representative will receive this award. Without a doubt, this is the greatest recognition that a Brazilian researcher can receive”, said Victora, in an exclusive interview with metropolises.
Breastfeeding: A lifetime of research
Victora is responsible for research conducted in the early 1983s that changed the world’s behavior with regard to breastfeeding. Her investigation was one of those responsible for demonstrating that breastfeeding gave greater defenses to the children’s immune system and prevented newborn deaths. The 4,000 children in the study were surveyed for more than three decades.
“When I started my research, in 1983, there was the idea that powdered milk was more nutritious than breast milk. There were also many mothers who diluted cow’s milk to give to their children. At that time, diarrhea was the biggest cause of death in babies in Brazil and we had the cheapest and simplest solution very close by, which was breastfeeding, ”she recalls.
Victora’s research, later replicated in Peru and the Philippines, made her internationally recognized and changed understanding of early childhood care around the world. Today, the growth curves he established help guide pediatrics in more than 140 countries.
“Without false modesty, I am very proud to think that my work could have helped save the lives of millions of children, I think this is the greatest recognition one can receive”, he says.
political row
Even so, a large part of the general Brazilian public ended up getting to know Victora’s production from the conflict he had with the Bolsonaro government. He thinks it’s funny that his name was associated with the episode, but says there was no other option to be taken.
In 2021, the epidemiologist had been one of those selected to be decorated by then-president Jair Bolsonaro to receive the title of grand cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit, but he refused the honor.
window._taboola = window._taboola || (); _taboola.push({ mode: “thumbnails-c-3×1”, container: “taboola-mid-article”, placement: “Mid Article”, target_type: “mix” });
“I would make that decision again as many times as necessary. We were living in a completely anti-science, anti-health government. No scientist is right 100% of the time, but he had the ability to always be wrong when talking about health”, points out Victora.
Although he was harshly accused by supporters of the former president, Victora points out that he does not have social networks and that he knows almost nothing about the criticism, but maintains that the denial of science propagated by political currents is extremely worrying for Brazilian researchers.
“Pedro Hallal, my student, was the public face of our research on the Covid epidemic and was brutally attacked. His wife was harassed, all because we were getting information out to the public. Fake news nowadays spreads much faster than scientific research that took years to produce,” he says.
Who is Cesar Victora?
Today an emeritus professor at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), in Rio Grande do Sul, Cesar Victora graduated in medicine in 1976. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, coordinated publications of the Lancet magazine in 2003, was president of the International Epidemiological Association in England, between 2011 and 2014, and since 2022 he has been a member of the WHO Scientific Council.
scientist’s future
After 40 years of scientific research and intense work as an epidemiologist during the Covid pandemic, Victora is preparing to step on the brakes. “I am retired and have published less. I want to be with my family more, which is something I haven’t been able to for many years,” she says. The slowdown, however, does not prevent doctors from getting involved with guidelines that still arouse their scientific interest.
“I got older and I think I’m more immediate. I don’t want to discover new treatments and vaccines, I want the medicines that we already have to reach people because we live in a scenario of great inequality. Racial, economic and geographic minorities are often excluded from health systems, ”he points out. Victora’s future research is going in that direction, evaluating data from more than 100 countries.
Get news from metropolises on your Telegram and stay on top of everything! Just access the channel: https://t.me/metropolesurgente.
The post “I would do it again”, says award-winning doctor after refusing Bolsonaro’s title first appeared on Metropolis.
