More than two weeks after Manuel Pizarro took office as health minister, CNN Portugal revealed a possible conflict of interest with the new ruler: he is married to the president of the Order of Nutritionists.
In fact, Alexandra Bento was the only representative of the various professional health organizations to attend Pizarro’s inauguration on September 10. The two have been married for a year and a half.
The Order of Nutritionists was born in 2011 through a process led by Alexandra Bento herself and which at the time had the support of the then Secretary of State… Manuel Pizarro.
“One of the highlights of the 2009 Congress was the opening session, where the Secretary of State for Health, Manuel Pizarro, publicly announced that the Ministry had issued a positive opinion on the creation of the Order of Nutritionists,” published at the time the Revista da Associação Portuguese from nutritionists, quoted by CNN Portugal.
Alexandra Bento is the only president to have met with the Order, she is in her third term in office and has been highly critical of the Ministry of Health and regularly recommends nutritionists.
Several experts heard by the station believe it is a conflict of interest that could lead to a secretary of state making the decisions when it comes to nutritionists.
At the end of the evening, the minister rejected the idea that there would be a conflict of interest, because custody of that body has been delegated to the State Secretary for Health Promotion.
Source: DN
