Dr. Zacharias Calil

Zacharias Calil Hamu was born on November 5, 1953, in Goiânia (GO). A graduate in Medicine from the Federal University of Goiás, he specialized in pediatric surgery, working for many years at the Goiânia Maternal and Child Hospital and providing services to the SUS (Brazilian Public Health System), mainly in the care of children, such as in the separation of conjoined twins and in the treatment of rare diseases such as hemangiomas. His medical career, marked by clinical practice and research into complex cases, was consolidated before he entered public life as a federal deputy.

Political career

Zacharias was elected federal deputy in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, representing the União Brasil party (formerly DEM), and is currently affiliated with the MDB.

Performance in the National Congress

In his federal political career, Calil has focused on issues related to public health, issues that directly relate to his medical background, such as policies for community health workers and the fight against endemic diseases (PEC 014/21), regulation of medical specialties, inclusion of rare diseases in the list of legal coverage, and educational campaigns. He has also chaired or held vice-leadership positions in parliamentary blocs, served on technical committees, and participated in public debates, hearings, and proposals that seek to standardize medical procedures or improve the structure of hospital care in Goiás.

In the National Congress, Dr. Zacharias Calil has presented proposals of his own authorship (183 of them in 2025), reported on several projects, and participated in nominal votes in plenary sessions. He authored Bill 3840/2025, which proposes to criminalize what he calls the "digital adultification of minors," with penalties of three to six years for those who produce or disseminate content that sexualizes children or adolescents to obtain audience or economic advantage. He is also the author of Bill 2900/2022, which aims to include Short Bowel Syndrome in the list of serious and rare diseases, guaranteeing legal support for those who depend on parenteral nutrition. He was the rapporteur for the project that authorizes sports clubs to allocate part of their debts to child and youth projects for young people in vulnerable situations (CadÚnico). Another project he authored, approved without vetoes, protects frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19, establishing obligations for employers and public authorities to provide PPE and health conditions during health emergencies. Calil actively participates in committees such as the Special Committee on Community Health Agents and the Fight against Endemic Diseases, and has promoted public hearings, awareness campaigns, and debates on public health, education, and science.