We propose here a discussion about rural population as the object of policies and practices in the Public Health field. We are interested in identifying if, when, in what ways, and in what economic, political and ideological contexts it received or has been receiving, from public institutions, specific health services and/or actions. To achieve this, we focus on the policies that combat malaria, still recognized, nowadays, as the endemic of widest impact on the rural population of the Amazon region. This is, therefore, a discussion about the trajectory of the endemics control policies in Brazil (in the context of the health policies' trajectory), especially about the institutions responsible for their execution, illustrated by empirical data and extracts from interviews we collected in fieldworks in Maranhão the state with the highest percentage of rural population in Brazil. We conclude with a case study about current data and tendencies concerning malaria in the state, and with some comments about current challenges to its control.
Rural Population; Public Health; Malaria; Maranhão