Brazil Launches National SUS Smart-Hospital Network, Seals R$1.7 Billion BRICS Loan

Overview

• The government signed a R$1.7 billion financing contract with the BRICS’ New Development Bank to build the flagship hub at USP, a loan with a 30-year term and disbursements scheduled over four years (R$420 million, R$870 million, R$440 million, R$30 million), with China and India cited as partners.
• The new Institute of Intelligent Medicine at HC‑USP is planned at about 150,000 m² with 800 beds, including 305 ICU beds and 25 operating rooms, and capacity to serve roughly 200,000 patients a year, with completion expected in three to four years.
• A network of 14 automated, interconnected ICUs will be installed across 13 states in all five regions, with sites including Manaus, Belém, Teresina, Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Brasília and Dourados.
• Beyond the NDB loan, the government announced about R$1.1–1.2 billion to modernize reference hospitals such as UFRJ, UniRio, the Institute of the Brain, Unifesp’s new facility, a new oncology hospital in the Baixada Fluminense and the Group Hospitalar Conceição, bringing projected investment to as much as R$4.5 billion.
• The initiative will integrate AI triage, telemedicine, 5G‑linked ambulances, robotic surgery and continuous digital monitoring, with the Health Ministry projecting up to a fivefold reduction in emergency wait times as President Lula urged rapid fund release and execution.