Brazil's National Day of Mobilization for the Health of the Black Population, observed on October 27, highlights the importance of recognizing and addressing racial inequalities in health. The date calls for the mobilization of institutions, health professionals, policymakers, and society to promote actions that contribute to better health conditions and greater equity in access to healthcare services. In this context, investigating and raising awareness of inequalities affecting Afrodescendant populations has been a recurring focus of the scientific research conducted by the International Center for Equity in Health (ICEH).

One example is a study by Janaina Costa and colleagues (2022), published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, which analyzed 17 indicators of health, nutrition, and living conditions across ten Latin American and Caribbean countries. The findings identified differences between Afrodescendant and non-Afrodescendant populations, with patterns varying by country and indicator. In Brazil, for example, 86.7% of Afrodescendant women initiated antenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy, compared with 91.8% of non-Afrodescendant women.

More recent ICEH research has also identified racial inequalities in antenatal care in Brazil. A study by Luiza Eunice Silva and colleagues (2025), published in Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, found that Black and Brown adolescent girls had lower rates of timely antenatal care initiation than White adolescents. Another study led by the same author, published in 2026 in the International Journal for Equity in Health, found that Black and Brown women had lower antenatal care coverage than White women. Furthermore, these inequalities increased when more demanding coverage criteria were applied, namely, a higher number of antenatal care visits.

These publications are part of ICEH's ongoing research on racial and ethnic inequalities in health, including earlier studies examining coverage of reproductive, maternal, and child health interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Investigating and raising awareness of racial inequalities in health is an important step toward addressing them. Analyzing health indicators disaggregated by race and ethnicity helps identify differences that may remain hidden in population averages and provides evidence to inform policies and actions aimed at reducing these inequalities.

In this sense, the National Day of Mobilization for the Health of the Black Population reinforces the importance of translating knowledge into initiatives that improve health conditions, expand access to healthcare services, and contribute to a more equitable society.