The access to nutritional formulas in the Brazilian National Health System:

An overview by the justice system

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the perceptions of the justice system on the judicialization of the access to dietary formulas from a perspective of health and nutrition as social rights. This is an exploratory, descriptive, qualitative and quantitative study, with semi-structured interviews carried out with representatives of the justice system and using the Discourse of the Collective Subject for data analysis. The results obtained with such method show that: the justice system recognizes the right to food, which takes effect through public policies that guarantee such right; the understanding of the concept of food and nutrition safety is far from the average modus operandi of the justice system; the right to food should be applied in different ways in different sectors; intersectoral actions are needed to guarantee the right to food, but the claims are judged under the understanding of the right to health; there is a misunderstanding about the technical analysis of nutritional formulas, equating them with medicines; the lobby of the food industry is the most important factor that influences the judicialization of health; dialogue between the sectors is the most important strategy for confronting judicialization. The judiciary system should be included in the forums of discussion about food and nutrition safety and about human rights to adequate food, in order to debate the role of the Brazilian National Health System in guaranteeing nutritional formulas.