The Municipality of Montes Claros will provide resources to pay for 20 new beds in the Type II Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the city's contracted hospitals. Resources of up to R$11.3 million will be made available from the municipal treasury, divided into 12 monthly installments, in addition to more than R$2 million from the Medium and High Complexity (MAC) ceiling, to cover free clinical and surgical hospitalizations. The project also establishes that hospitals provide support beds for pre- and post-ICU admissions, in addition to keeping the beds visible to the State Regulation Center. The approval comes at a time when Montes Claros is facing difficulties related to the supply of pediatric ICU beds, a situation that directly impacts patients in the city and the entire Northern region of Minas. The proposal seeks to expand service capacity and guarantee greater support for the public health network until the beds are definitively enabled with the Ministry of Health. The measure follows the trend already adopted in 2025, when the City Hall also joined the contracting of beds on an emergency basis. The Constitution of the Republic, in its article 196, determines that health is a right of all and a duty of the State, guaranteed through social and economic policies that aim to reduce the risk of disease and other injuries, as well as universal and equal access to actions and services for its promotion, protection and recovery. Law No. 8,080/1990, which regulates health actions and services in Brazil, assigns responsibility for the organization and execution of health care, especially of medium and high complexity, to federated entities. The current epidemiological scenario in Brazil, especially in Minas Gerais and the municipality of Montes Claros, shows a significant increase in cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The Municipal Health Department has been monitoring the average occupancy rate of Pediatric ICU beds in the city's hospitals on a daily basis. The transfer of financial resources must respect the principles of legality, efficiency, transparency and control, with monitoring of hospital production carried out by the Municipal Health Department, through the Regulation and Informatization Management, using the official systems of the Ministry of Health (SIH/SUS), even if the beds are in the qualification phase. The beds contracted exceptionally until authorized by the Ministry of Health will be permanently visible at the State Bed Regulation Center, which ensures integrated management of care resources, optimizing the flow and care of patients in critical situations. This initiative, according to Mayor Guilherme Guimarães, “is in line with the constitutional responsibility of the Municipality of Montes Claros to guarantee full, continuous and equal access to public health services, as provided for in the Constitution of the Republic and specific legislation.” City Hall expands services for city children Magnificent