ABSTRACT:
Environmental Health Surveillance (EHS) is a strategic component of Brazil’s Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS), focused on the identification, monitoring, and mitigation of environmental risks to human health¹. In Brazil, EHS implementation faces challenges related to territorial heterogeneity, limited local technical capacity, and insufficient intersectoral integration². In the state of Bahia, characterized by wide socioenvironmental diversity, the Environmental Health Surveillance Coordination (Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde Ambiental – COVIAM) has played a leading role in strengthening and consolidating structured actions across the territory, exceeding the national average in several aspects³. This descriptive study analyzes actions developed by COVIAM during the 2023–2025 triennium, covering the surveillance axes of drinking water quality, air quality, populations exposed to chemical contaminants, environmental determinants of health, and climate change. Institutional records, technical reports, and data from environmental health information systems were reviewed. During the study period, 488 EHS actions were implemented statewide, with a strong emphasis on technical capacity building, institutional support, and territorial planning. Bahia demonstrated national leadership in the surveillance of populations exposed to chemical contaminants, registering the highest number of monitored areas in Brazil in 2025 (1.632 areas). In the climate change axis, the state became a national pioneer by developing the country’s first Health Sector Plan for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, presented at national forums and during the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP 30). These initiatives place Bahia above the national average in terms of organization, innovation, and scope of EHS actions. The findings indicate that strengthening environmental health surveillance, when integrated with territorial management, continuing education, and intersectoral collaboration, produces tangible impacts on the protection of collective health. The Bahia experience represents a national benchmark, highlighting the importance of investing in EHS to address health inequalities and climate-related emergencies while advancing sustainable development4-7.