Challenges and perspectives of pharmaceutical services in the context of Brazilian foreign policy: an approach in light of the decolonization of health in the global south in the post-pandemic period

Abstract The National Pharmaceutical Services Policy (PNAF) was the first public policy created through social oversight. The consolidation of the National Health Council as a democratic, pluralistic, and activist space, especially in the approval of the PNAF, coincides with a strategic moment in Brazilian foreign policy and health diplomacy, focused on reconfiguring global geopolitics, especially in North-South relations. This article analyzes how Brazilian foreign policy has been coordinated with the defense of Health on the international stage over the past 20 years, especially in negotiations that affect access to safe, effective, high-quality, and affordable medicines. This qualitative, descriptive study is grounded in Brazilian Foreign Policy (BFP), innovation, and intellectual property rights. It concludes that the decolonization of Health in the Global South, especially in the post-pandemic backdrop, requires a renewed commitment to equity, social justice, and the human right to health. Brazil, with its experience in Public Health policies and local medicine production, can spearhead this transformation.